Today’s theme is all Melinda’s idea - and I think it’s a great one - a much needed one. In case you didn’t know, two years ago this month - January 28, 2019 - I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Basically, Parkinson’s occurs when the brain stops producing dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter the body produces and uses to send messages between nerve cells.
Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our unique human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting. Lack of dopamine can affect mood, sleep, attention, the processing of pain, and even movement. It has affected my mood, my sleep, my ability to focus, has caused tremors in my right arm, and has greatly affected my vocal abilities.
We first began noticing changes in my mood after a surgery several years ago. I began to experience panic attacks for seemingly no reason at all. This was very difficult for me to deal with since I had never really had a panic attack before. When those attacks would come, I would simply ask Melinda to speak truth to me and the attack would subside almost immediately.
We really began to notice changes in August and September of 2018 after a knee replacement surgery. I began to lose weight, had trouble focusing, and experienced even greater and longer panic attacks than before…and my right arm began to develop a tremor. After finally getting in to see a neurologist, he confirmed the diagnosis on January 28, 2019.
Enough about that. I want you to hear from my wife the ways in which Parkinson’s has affected her life and the way in which she and I are dealing with it’s effects. Rather than write out her responses to my interview questions, I have placed the following link in this blogpost so you can hear for yourself directly from Melinda’s heart. She is the love of my life…and I think you will understand why as you listen to the following episode of The Dennis Jernigan Podcast:
http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/devastated-by-your-love-an-interview-with-melinda-jernigan-podcast/
https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2012/03/01/01/31/depression-20195_1280.jpg