Incurable Optimists: Getting the better of Parkinson's Disease

This book, ‘Incurable Optimists’, may be the only book that will tell you what it is actually like to live with Parkinson’s disease. Written by people whose lives have been impacted by Parkinson’s, these true tales are valuable examples of how one can live one’s best possible life with this difficult condition. The tales are from those newly diagnosed and from others who have lived with Parkinson’s for more than thirty years. Michael McDonald, whose working life had been helping large companies solve complex problems, recognised the pressing need for this book during Zoom sessions with the Parkinson’s group in Canterbury, UK. The members of the group had all met previously at various therapy sessions, but they had never told their stories to each other or shared their personal challenges and solutions. As soon as they did, and word got around, many other helpful tales began arriving from all over the world. Prepare to be inspired!

Table of Contents:
Foreword – Incurable Optimists 7 Prologue 11 The salesman’s tale 13 The accountant’s tale 16 The intrepid traveller’s tale 22 The physiotherapist’s tale 27 The specialist nurse's tale 33 A tribute to our best friends 38 The carer’s tale 42 The mountaineer’s tale 46 The headteacher’s tale 49 The wife’s tale 54 The writer’s tale 62 The beauty therapist’s tale 66 The systems analyst’s tale 71 The historian’s tale 77 The cartoonist’s tale 86 The public health inspector’s tale 88 Another carer’s tale 91 The golfer’s tale 93 The nurse’s tale 95 The dance teacher’s tale 102 The finance manager’s tale 105 The librarian’s tale 114 The editor’s tale 119 The solicitor’s tale 122 The red sports car driver’s tale 126 The doctor’s tale 130 A daughter’s tale 132 The friend’s tale 134 The tale of the person with Parkinson’s, or is it Lewy Body Dementia? 138 A tale of diagnostics 141 A tale of diagnosis 150 The constipator’s tale 151 Getting there in the end 156 The cruciverbalist’s tale 158 Diagnostic quiz 163 Epilogue 169 Incurable Optimists - compiled by those who know. 171

About the Author :
Michael McDonald was born in Hawick in the UK in 1943. He was educated in Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool University where he studied Botany. After teaching in Belfast, he joined IBM in 1967 as a systems engineer and salesman in the early computer industry. In 1980 he set up as an independent adviser, helping the largest companies and consultancies to solve and sell complex systems. He retired in 2003 and moved with his wife, Mary, to Kent. In 2013 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Since then, he has identified, and shared with other Parkinson’s sufferers, activities to slow down and even reverse specific symptoms.