Sharon Krischer

Fifteen years ago, I received a Parkinson's diagnosis. My journey began with a neurologist who offered minimal guidance. Feeling lost, I switched to University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) movement disorders clinic, where I found a supportive doctor who gave me my diagnosis. 

At that time, I didn't know anybody who had Parkinson's. Neither did I know anything about it. But I've been with the same doctor since then and it has made a huge difference. Even though there wasn't much out information out there, she was a big help. Basically, I was in denial for about five years, trying to hide the tremor. Because I was tremordominant my doctor said I had a slower developing form of Parkinson's. Despite initial denial, I eventually embraced my condition, prompted by others noticing my symptoms. Ten years ago, I started a blog and Facebook page aimed at sharing information about Parkinson's. Attending a Fox Foundation symposium in Los Angeles really got me going on my journey to become a Parkinson's advocate. I also attended an event in New Jersey where I was one of only 25 women from all around the country. We were asked to do something in our community when we got home. So, I pulled together the women that I knew in Los Angeles with Parkinson's and we started meeting by organizing fun events-boxing, yoga, speakers on all types of subjects. The group quickly blossomed into a thriving community which adapted seamlessly to Zoom during the pandemic and continued twice per month since then.

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