Support

My name is Sally Palmer. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2005. It started with a tremor in my right hand, and it has now spread to my right leg. When I first noticed this tremor, I went to a neurologist, and he thought I only had an essential tremor. After some trial and error, we discovered that I had Parkinson’s disease.

I was under the age of 50 when I was first diagnosed, which is considered early onset. Recently, my medicine has been starting to wear off, so my doctor started adjusting the dosage. I’m still not where I want to be, but it could be so much worse.

I try to find the good that has come from me having Parkinson’s. There are people in my life who I would never have known if it wasn’t for this disease. I have a lot to be thankful for, so I try to focus on that.

I started coordinating Parkinson’s support group meetings in 2008. We host meetings 10 months out of the year at the Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library. We usually have an educational speaker come to our meetings. One time, we did music therapy, and we each got to play an instrument. We’ve also had nutritionists, speech therapists and pharmacists come to speak at these meetings. If we can reach at least one person through these support groups and make one life easier, then we have succeeded. I want to be there for others.