Other publications by alpha members
I Can Speak for Myself, If You'll Let Me Do So
By Jackie Christensen
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
When people first meet me, they may not be able to tell that I have Parkinson's disease. I'm 45, and the average age at diagnosis is 55 to 60. (I was 34 when my case was diagnosed.) I don't really have a tremor, and in 2006, I underwent deep brain stimulation, a procedure that controls most of the wriggling and writhing movements that I had been experiencing. But once I open my mouth to speak, it often becomes apparent that there is something going on.
