Reply To: “Brain storms” by Jon Palfreman (Year 2)

[Anonymous]

I’ve found this book very informative and interesting. It shows the history of research on the disease, struggles to find the cause and a safe method of treatment. It also gives an insight into Parkies’ daily life with PD, how they try to cope with the symptoms and help each other via their support groups and numerous foundations.
This text was especially interesting to me personally, since my grandmother had been diagonsed with Parkinson’s a few years ago. The story of Pamela Quinn, which Mr. Palfreman brought to light, gave me a lot of hope for my grandma, especially that she is a fierce woman, who don’t give up easily. I belive that with the help of medical treatment and her determination, she will eventually be able to make peace with her diagnosis and learn how to live with it.
Another bit, that I’ve found particularly interesting was about the tragic fate of those so called “Frozen Addicts”. What really stroke me about their story was how it shows that even a small mistake, just a little change in the chemical structure could change somebody’s life forever. Also the fact, that were paralysed and couldn’t communicate with the outside world while being fully aware and consious was pretty terrifying. Nevertheless, it made me curious about the NOVA PBS’s documentary and since I really love this genre I’d love to watch it (which will be even more interesting given Mr. Palfreman’s backstory).