Please join me as I speak with world Parkinson’s leader, Dr. Michael Okun.  Dr. Okun is a board-certified neurologist, movement disorders specialist, neuroscientist and author who practices with the philosophy that ‘the patient is the sun’ and should be at the center of all care decisions.Dr. Okun co-founded and co-directs the internationally renowned Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases with his neurosurgeon partner and friend, Kelly Foote, MD. Since 2006.  He also serves as the Medical Advisor for the Parkinson’s Foundation.In addition, Dr. Okun has authored 14 books related to living a full life with neurological disorders including Parkinson’s Treatment: 10 Secrets to a Happier Life and Ending Parkinson’s Disease.Dr. Okun shares his insight and perspective on how to best manage Parkinson’s disease.

Season 3 Episode 1: Jon Braddock is a licensed architect with a Masters Degree from MIT and a Bachelors Degree from the University of Florida.  He was diagnosed with YOPD in Jan, 2020 and lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida with his wife and two kids. Join me as I talk to Jon about navigating Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease and coping with the disease during the “best” years of his life.

Please join me as I chat with Allie Toepperwein, as she boldly shares her beautiful journey with Parkinson’s disease and her diagnosis at the young age of 37.Allie has inspired thousands of people as a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and the first person with Parkinson’s to compete on American Ninja Warriors. She travels throughout the country speaking about her journey and overcoming obstacles.  She looks at life with Parkinson's as a blessing. Thanks to her faith, her family and friends, she is a force to be reckoned with.Listen in as she talks about family life and her marriage to her husband who also has Parkinson’s disease.

In this episode you will meet Allison Ballard, accomplished elite athlete and living successfully with Parkinson’s disease.  Alison faces Parkinson’s disease head on, just like she faces everything else. You will be inspired as Alison shares her view on life, her struggles with Parkinson’s and her recent diagnosis of cancer.

Please join me for a  discussion with Nicole Reynolds, Occupational Therapist and Certified Health Coach, as she explains how movement ties into function.  Nicole Reynolds is an occupational therapist and certified health coach, who enjoys looking from a holistic lens when working with people living with Parkinson’s Disease.  Nicole is certified in LSVT BIG, PWR Moves, and a certified dementia practitioner with over 10 years of professional experience working with those living with Parkinson's Disease.  She not only helps with movement, but also "everything else" Parkinson's affects.

Please join me for a  scientific discussion with Dr. Xiaobo Mao, Associate Professor with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, around future Parkinson’s related therapies and the cure for Parkinson’sDr. Mao is currently an Associate Professor with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he has extensive work in the hospital & health care industry. Dr. Mao gained his PhD at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2010 and conducted his post doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2016 where his research focuses on alpha-synuclein proteins and how their misfolding and spread can lead to Parkinson’s Disease.  This discovery holds potential promise for future Parkinson’s related therapies.His discoveries are one of 40 key discoveries in 200 years of Parkinson’s Disease research.

Join me as I chat with Annie Brooks, MSW who currently serves as the Associate Director of Education at the Parkinson’s Foundation. As part of the Education department, her primary focus is providing quality informational resources and programs for people with Parkinson’s disease, their care partners and loved ones, and the professionals who are part of the medical and care team. Annie oversees the Aware in Care and Hospital Initiatives, the Care Partner Program, and the production and distribution of educational materials in English and Spanish. Annie completed her Master of Social Work focused in Community and Social Justice from The Ohio State University and her Bachelor of Social Work from Florida State University. She is passionate about empowering diverse communities to achieve their best health and social outcomes.

Scott Rider and Jim Morgan are embarking upon a cross country, motor coach adventure in an effort to provide the world an educational yet private look into what life is like with Parkinson’s.Scott and Jim are collaborating with Barry Blaustein, an American comedy writer best known for his writing on Saturday Night Live and the screenplays for Coming to America and The Nutty Professor. Leveraging upon Barry’s expertise and creative talents, Scott and Jim plan to produce a video documentary about the trip that they will use as a fundraising tool to benefit the Parkinson’s Foundation.. They will meet with care partners, physicians, exercise experts, and nutritionists who strive to make life better for people living with PD. They will also visit with top clinical researchers and innovative entrepreneurs who are working diligently to help find a cure.

Have you ever wondered if Parkinson's in genetic?  Maybe you are concerned because a grandparent or parent was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.Join me today as my guests from the Parkinson's Foundation explain PD GENEration and how it is used for mapping the Future of Parkinson’s Disease.

Eve Grill is 22 years old and the oldest daughter of Anna Grill, who was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson’s disease when Eve was very young.  While Eve is embarking on her life as a young adult, having just graduated from the College of William and Mary and working in DC, she still looks to her mom for guidance in every aspect of life.  Eve discusses how Parkinson’s has inevitably impacted her life, but she believes it has brought many blessings to her life as well as her family’s life.  Listen in as Eve shares how she processsed the complex emotions of learning about her mother's diagosis, coping with fear and the unknown, and how she learned to trust her mom to care for herself.   Eve's experience has clearly made her wise beyond her years.

Please join me as I chat with Tom Urtz who shares his inspirational story.  He talks about his journey so honestly from falling down more than 5,000 times in the past few years to his decision to stop driving.    Tom underwent deep brain stimulation surgery in 2012 and retired on disability in 2014.  His speech has been affected by Parkinson’s.  There may be times during the interview that I repeat what he says for the listening audience.

Dr. Mathur is a family physician from Toronto, Canada who resigned her medical practice following a Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis at age 27. Having lived with the disease for over two decades she now spends her time writing, educating, and advocating for those living with Parkinson’s. Dr. Mathur works with organizations such as The Michael J Fox foundation, The Davis Phinney Foundation the Brian Grant Foundation, Parkinson Canda, Lakeridge Health Foundation and co founder of PD Avenger’s.  She is also an author of the patient education and medical blog UnshakeableMD, and she has authored two books, Shaky hands, and my grandpa’s shaky hands.

Karl and Angela Robb - lessons from living with Parkinson's for over 30 years. Join me as I chat with Karl and Angela Robb as they share their experience of living successfully with Parkinson's disease for over 30 years.   They are truly inspirational! Karl Robb has had Young Onset Parkinson’s disease (PD) for over thirty years. With symptoms since he was seventeen years old, Karl was diagnosed at the age of twenty-three. Now fifty-four, he is a Parkinson’s disease advocate, entrepreneur, inventor, Reiki Master, and author of two books (A Soft Voice in a Noisy World: A Guide to Dealing and Healing with Parkinson’s Disease and Dealing and Healing with Parkinson’s Disease and Other Health Conditions: A Workbook for Body, Mind, and Spirit) with his wife and care partner, Angela Robb. He has blogged for twelve years on his website, ASoftVoice.com. He is a Community Team Member to ParkinsonsDisease.net. Karl is a board member of both the Parkinson Voice Project and Parkinson Social Network.Angela Robb is Karl’s wife of 24 years, co-editor at ASoftVoice.com, Community Team Member at ParkinsonsDisease.net, and a Reiki Master. Angela has advocated for caregiver issues by sharing her experiences at various regional and national Parkinson’s conferences, writing for the Every Victory Counts manual from the Davis Phinney Foundation, and presenting at the World Parkinson Congress. In 2015, Angela was honored at The White House as a Champion of Change in Parkinson’s Disease.

Join Teresa Jackson, National Certified Health and Wellness Coach and International Podcast host, as she provides strategies to living well with Parkinson's.

Bobby is a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy. He graduated with his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Bobby has served the role of a full-time physical therapist for over seven years and works nearly exclusively within the Parkinson’s community.  He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. In 2018 Bobby was the recipient of the APTA Academy of Neurology Early Career Professional Award and Degenerative Disease Special Interest Group Volunteer Award.He has supported the PD patient population through education and advocacy in partnership with organizations such as the Parkinson's Foundation, PDSELF, CurePSP, and newly founded LiftPD. Bobby’s goals are to continue to develop an excellent quality of treatment paradigms for Parkinson’s disease, improve clinical care access, and to continue to give support to self-efficacy for individuals and families living with Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Jackie Judd Flack graduated from West Virginia School Of Osteopathic Medicine in 2007 after completing her undergraduate training at Bridgewater College in Virginia, majoring in Biology with a minor in Philosophy and Religion.  Dr. Flack completed her residency training at the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program through Virginia Commonwealth University. With 14 years of experience, she specializes in family medicine and practices in Winchester, VA.  Dr. Flack believes the person is more than the composition of their medical diagnosis.  She believes that preventative medicine is the key to improving quality of life and care of her patients.  She also believes that many diseases take a team of healthcare providers to provide expertise and input.  Dr. Flack takes pleasure in being a patient advocate and working along side with specialists to provide the best interdisciplinary team for patient care.Join us and learn about the role of the primary care physician and their role in diagnosing and treating Parkinson's Disease in collaboration with your neurologist or movement disorder specialist.

Dr. Hooman Azmi is the Director of the Division of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center.  His goal has been to develop a program that delivers a very comprehensive approach to the care of patients with Parkinson’s disease.  From promoting engagement in health and wellness, to offering the most current medication therapies, to making available surgical options such as Deep Brain Stimulation and beyond, the program strives to ensure the best quality of life possible for each patient.  Recognizing the particular vulnerability of patients with Parkinson’s disease, Dr. Azmi has spent the last ten years helping to develop innovative hospital wide protocols and programs to improve the care of patients with Parkinson’s disease who have been admitted to the hospital.  He leads a team at HUMC whose efforts have culminated in HUMC becoming the first hospital in the nation to receive disease specific certification in Parkinson’s disease from the Joint Commission for accreditation of Hospitals in June of 2018. Dr. Azmi has authored and co-authored several articles in scientific journals and has been an invited speaker nationally and internationally.  His co-authored book entitled “Parkinson’s Disease for the Hospitalist” was released in October 2018.

Dr. Jonathan Lessin is a former Cardiac Anesthesiologist whose career was cut short nine years after the diagnosis of Young Onset Parkinson's Disease at the age of 38.  Initially he was able to keep working with medication and eventually Deep Brain Stimulation at age 42. After Dr. Lessin voluntarily retired in 2012, he found rock climbing as a form of exercise to further aid him in his struggle with the disease. Ultimately, Jon helped to form a PD rock climbing group at Sportrock Climbing Center in Alexandria, VA.  He also authored a book, titled Tenacity, about his experience with Parkinson’s, deep brain stimulation and different forms of exercise that improved the quality of his life. Jonathan now finds happiness encouraging those living with Young Onset Parkinson's Disease to attempt things they thought they could never do.

Anna Brown Grill developed Young Onset Parkinson's Disease at the age of 38 at a time when she was living her best life- excelling in her career while successfully balancing the roles of wife and of mother to two girls who at the time were 9 and 7 years old.  She was leading a division of 110 associates, traveling from South Carolina to Delaware all while serving as PTA president at her girl's elementary school when she was diagnosed.   There was clearly No time on her calendar for PD and while she started medication and care immediately, in all other aspects, she largely swept it under the carpet, keeping it mostly to herself and forging ahead with her activities. She worked for 10 more years in her full time, stressful career all while managing to keep her illness undisclosed.  It was not until she exited at age 48 that she fully disclosed her condition to her coworkers.Since then, Anna has gone from hiding in the closet with her condition to becoming one of the most vocal advocates I know.  She is very active with the Parkinson's Foundation and has served as the chair for the DC Moving Day event for the last four years.  Anna's first hand experience, and frustration with the lack of resources available specifically for young onset, prompted her to create a nonprofit organization specifically designed and targeted at supporting that community from a holistic perspectiveIn addition to developing a nonprofit for YOPD, Anna now spends her time focusing on her health, exercising and volunteering.  Please join me as Anna Brown Grill shares her inspirational story.    Episode is LivePublished: May. 25, 2021 @12AM EditUnpublishAdd a TranscriptGet episode better indexed by search engines.Add Chapter MarkersListeners can tap through & see what’s coming up.Create a Visual SoundbiteBest way to share to social media for engagement.Share Episode OnFacebookTwitterLinkedInMore OptionsEmail Link to Episode CopyDirect Link to MP3 Copy Download MP3Embed this ONE Episode

Brett Miller is the Founder and Owner of 110 Fitness.  In addition, he is a licensed physical therapist with 26 years of experience in all settings including sports therapy, acute and intensive care, long-term care, and wound care. Brett serves as an ambassador for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Davis Phinney Foundation.  He is a research consultant for innovative United States research companies as well as prominent Boston hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic. He has worked in the fitness industry for 25 years with extensive experience in Parkinson's wellness, strength and conditioning, boxing, cycling, rowing, and kickboxing. He has also worked as the strength and conditioning coach for world-class boxers and Olympic athletes focusing on injury prevention and rehabilitation. Brett is a U.S. Army veteran and is proud to have served as a combat medic trainer for special operations. He is a PWR!Moves® Certified Therapist and is also certified in Concept 2 Rowing, Pedaling for Parkinson’s, SCW Boxing Fitness, SCW Aquatics Exercise, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance, CPR/AED, and is a licensed boxing second in the state of Massachusetts.