This is Parkinson's

This is Parkinson's
  • 5.0 (5)
  • NON-PROFIT
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

In 2014, journalist Lisa Volenec was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She stayed silent for years - until now. This is Parkinson's is her wayof breaking the silence and giving a voice to a community of more than 10 million people worldwide living with this incurable condition. Drawing on her years as a reporter, Lisa leads thoughtful, revealing conversations with people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers, and experts, because no two Parkinson’s journeys are the same. With episodes grounded in honesty, humor, and heart, this podcast is Lisa’s mission: to challenge stigma, build empathy, and create a place where people living with Parkinson’s feel seen, heard, and less alone. This half-hour + video/audio podcast will be available on Wednesdays on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. 🩵 Thank you for watching or listening! We appreciate your support. ꕤ For more information: thisisparkinsons.org ꕤ To help and donate: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate

Episodes

  1. APR 29

    Ep. 8 From Caregiver to Activist: Dr. George Ackerman and a Son’s Promise

    "We treat our animals better than our loved ones." This heartbreaking realization fueled Dr. George Ackerman’s transition from a career in law and policing to becoming one of the most dedicated Parkinson’s disease advocates in the world. In this deeply personal episode, Lisa Volenec sits down "knee-to-knee" with George to discuss his organization "Together For Sharon" and the reality of being a caregiver during his mother Sharon’s silent 18-year battle.  George opens up about the "Sharonisms" he misses most, the trauma of Parkinson’s hallucinations and delusions, and why he coined the term "secondary Parkinson’s" for the family members who hold their loved ones' hands until their very last breath. In this episode, we explore: The Silent Struggle: Why many patients hide their diagnosis to avoid "burdening" their families. The caregiver's journey: Navigating the healthcare system, from movement disorder specialists to the need for "death with dignity." A Legacy in Ink: George’s mission to educate the next generation through his Parkinson's children’s book and his upcoming documentary. Advocacy vs. Family: The emotional tug-of-war between fighting for a cure and being present for those still here. Whether you are a caregiver, a patient, or someone navigating grief, George’s story is a powerful reminder that while we may feel alone in the dark, there is a global community fighting to turn on the light. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    38 min

  2. APR 22

    Ep. 7 A Caregivers Guide

    How do you manage a complex neurodegenerative disease from 2,000 miles away? In this episode of This is Parkinson's, Lisa Volenec sits down with Angie Allison, a daughter and advocate who turned her father Ron’s 15-year battle with Parkinson’s into a masterclass in caregiving. Angie pulls back the curtain on the "Parkinson’s Iceberg," discussing the non-motor symptoms that are often more challenging than the physical tremors—including apathy, depression, and hallucinations. Whether you are a care partner, a family member, or a patient, Angie’s "meet them in the moment" philosophy offers a beautiful, practical approach to maintaining dignity and quality of life. Key Takeaways: The "Unified Force": How to split responsibilities among siblings. Portal Advocacy: Why being the "squeaky wheel" with medical teams saves lives. The Emotional Shift: Learning to not take the "disease talking" personally. Environmental Factors: A look at why the Midwest is considered a "cluster" for PD. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    33 min

  3. APR 15

    Ep.6 Finding Connection in the Darkness: Tim Lockard’s Parkinson’s Journey

    How do you go from a five-minute diagnosis that flips your world upside down to becoming a source of light for the global Parkinson’s community? In this episode of This Is Parkinson’s, host Lisa Volenec sits down with Tim Lockard (founder of My PD Party @mypdparty on instagram) for a heart-to-heart on the realities of living with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease (YOPD) and critical decisions during difficult times. In this episode, we explore: The "Brochure" Diagnosis: Tim shares the jarring experience of being diagnosed in minutes and sent on his way with nothing but a pamphlet. Overcoming Depression: A raw look at the two-year dark period Tim faced and the exact moment in a Dunkin' Donuts parking lot that changed everything. The Environmental Link: A discussion on the potential connection between the automotive industry (degreasers/chemicals) and PD. Finding Your MVP: Tim’s incredible "full circle" story involving a personal photo with Muhammad Ali and meeting Lonnie Ali at the Michael J. Fox Foundation policy forum. Tim’s message is clear: Parkinson’s doesn’t define you; it’s just a part of the new, beautiful version of you. Follow Tim Lockard: @mypdparty ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    32 min

  4. APR 8

    Ep. 5 The Invisible Weight of a PD Diagnosis

    "If you give me that martini, I'll shake it up for you." In this episode of This Is Parkinson's, Pat Voelker joins Lisa Volenec to share how his diagnosis was a challenge that weighed him down at first but now he uses humor to take the edge off a life-altering diagnosis. Pat tells Lisa about the physical and mental shift from being the man who "carried the burden" to learning how to let his family support him. From the shop floor with 50 guys to the boxing gym with his former brother-in-law, Pat’s story is about refusing to lose to rigidity and tremors. In this "This Is Parkinson's" episode, we also dive deep into the reality of life with a tremor, the importance of maintaining a positive mindset, and how to stay engaged with the things you love. This episode of This Is Parkinson’s is a candid journey from fear to empowerment, showing how laughter can be a powerful weapon in the fight against Parkinson’s and how he’s redefining what it means to live with Parkinson’s. We cover everything from the initial shock of a Parkinson’s diagnosis to the daily wins that come from a supportive community. If you're searching for Parkinson’s lifestyle tips or stories of chronic illness resilience, this conversation is for you. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the mission of This is Parkinson’s Donate here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. #parkinsons #parkinsonsdisease #parkinsonspodcast #parkinsonsawareness #movementdisorder #chronicillness #caregiversupport #neurology #healthpodcast #nonprofit #thisisparkinsons #lisavolenec #michaeljfoxfoundation #deepbrainstimulation #move4pd #together4pd #parkinsonsresearch #parkinsonscommunity #PD #parkinsonschampion #parklinsonswarrior #parkinsonsdiseasesupport #michaeljfoxorg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    34 min

  5. APR 1

    Ep. 4 Fast Friends

    Lisa Volenec has an inspiring conversation with Sheryl Lowenhar, founder of 17 Branches and an energetic and passionate advocate for Parkinson’s awareness. In this episode, Sheryl shares her personal journey of living with Parkinson’s disease, offering insight, hope, and practical life-hack style advice for patients, caregivers, and anyone impacted by the condition.  We also highlight Sheryl’s podcast, The Parkinson’s Experience as well as the 8th Annual  Box 4 Bucks fundraiser at the Valley of the Sun JCC in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 18th. Box For Bucks is Team Fox fundraising event benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation and is a powerful community event raising funds for Parkinson’s research and support programs. Learn how initiatives like this bring people together to fight Parkinson’s and spread awareness. If you’re looking for real stories, encouragement, and resources about Parkinson’s disease, this episode is a must-listen. Support Sheryl Lowenhar and 17Branches here: https://www.17branches.org Lisa Volenec's Box4Bucks fundraising page: https://give.michaeljfox.org/fundraiser/7000716 ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission of This is Parkinson's Donate Here: ⁠https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate⁠ ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease⁠ ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: ⁠https://www.thisisparkinsons.org⁠ Contact: ⁠info@thisisparkinsons.org⁠ ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min

  6. MAR 11

    Ep. 3 - Why I'm Finally Getting Deep Brain Stimulation.

    After living with Parkinson’s disease for more than two decades, musician Jim Goodfriend reached a point where the symptoms began interfering with the thing he loved most — playing guitar. In this episode of This is Parkinson’s, Jim shares his journey from diagnosis to choosing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery in hopes of regaining control, independence, and the ability to once again express himself fully through music. Jim reflects on the emotional decision to pursue Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), the realities of living with Parkinson’s for over 20 years, and the role that creativity and music continue to play in his life. This conversation marks the beginning of Jim’s DBS journey — and we’ll be following along as his story continues. A powerful discussion that explores resilience, adapting to change, and the courage it takes to pursue new options when Parkinson’s begins to take more than it gives. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission of This is Parkinson's Donate Here: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsdisease ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: This is Parkinson’s is a nonprofit storytelling platform dedicated to sharing honest conversations about life with Parkinson’s disease. Through interviews with patients, caregivers, advocates, and experts, TIP aims to educate, reduce stigma, and build a community around the realities of living with Parkinson’s. Learn more: https://www.thisisparkinsons.org Contact: info@thisisparkinsons.org ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Your support helps amplify the voices of the Parkinson’s community and brings greater awareness to this disease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    31 min

  7. MAR 8

    Ep. 1 - I Have Parkinson’s. Now What?

    Parkinson’s doesn’t begin with tremors. It begins with fear, uncertainty, and the quiet decision of whether to tell anyone at all. In this premiere episode of This is Parkinson’s (TIP), founder Lisa Volenec sits down with Bob Sullivan, friend and co-founder of TIP, and her sister, Kris Volenec, for an honest conversation about her diagnosis, the grief that followed, and the courage it took to share her story publicly. Together, they discuss what it was like for Lisa to hide her diagnosis, grieving career changes, leaning into exercise and community support, and ultimately launching a nonprofit dedicated to elevating the real voices of those living with parkinson’s disease. This is where the journey begins. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission: 🙏 Donate to help elevate voices and raise awareness: bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: ➤ Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: Our mission is to break stigma and build empathy through authentic storytelling that reveals the humanity of life with Parkinson’s. Founded and led by a journalist living with Parkinson’s themself, TIP brings real experiences to light to build connection, understanding, and a community of support. 🌐 Find out more: thisisparkinsons.org 📧 Contact us: thisisparkinsons.org/contact/ ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 ⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this episode — it helps us continue to elevate voices and build a stronger, more informed community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min

  8. MAR 8

    Ep. 2 - The Truth About Multi-Generational Parkinson's

    What happens when Parkinson’s isn’t just a diagnosis — but part of your family history? In this episode of TIP, Lisa Volenec sits down with Lisa Cote of Omaha, Nebraska, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s just two years after losing her father to the same disease. With Parkinson’s also affecting her grandmother and mother-in-law, this conversation explores what it means when the condition feels woven into your DNA. They’re joined by Lisa C.'s daughter, Sammy, for an honest discussion about generational Parkinson’s, genetic testing, fitness as medicine, family support, and how mindset can shape the experience of living with a chronic illness. Together, they talk about diagnosis day, navigating fear alone, raising children while managing symptoms, wedding-day joy without Parkinson’s taking center stage, and the power of choosing family, movement, resilience, and connection over defeat. This is a conversation about legacy, strength, and refusing to lose yourself. ━━━━━━ ꕤ Support the Mission: 🙏 Donate to help elevate voices and raise awareness: www.bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate ━━━━━━ ꕤ Follow us: ➤ Instagram: www.instagram.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ➤ Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisisparkinsonsofficial ━━━━━━ ꕤ About This is Parkinson’s: Our mission is to break stigma and build empathy through authentic storytelling that reveals the humanity of life with Parkinson’s. Founded and led by a journalist living with Parkinson’s themself, TIP brings real experiences to light to build connection, understanding, and a community of support. 🌐 Find out more: thisisparkinsons.org 📧 contact us: thisisparkinsons.org/contact/ ━━━━━━ ꕤ 🔔 🩵 -⟢ Thank you for watching and supporting TIP. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this episode — it helps us continue to elevate voices and build a stronger, more informed community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min
  • 8 Episodes

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

In 2014, journalist Lisa Volenec was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. She stayed silent for years - until now. This is Parkinson's is her wayof breaking the silence and giving a voice to a community of more than 10 million people worldwide living with this incurable condition. Drawing on her years as a reporter, Lisa leads thoughtful, revealing conversations with people living with Parkinson’s, caregivers, and experts, because no two Parkinson’s journeys are the same. With episodes grounded in honesty, humor, and heart, this podcast is Lisa’s mission: to challenge stigma, build empathy, and create a place where people living with Parkinson’s feel seen, heard, and less alone. This half-hour + video/audio podcast will be available on Wednesdays on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. 🩵 Thank you for watching or listening! We appreciate your support. ꕤ For more information: thisisparkinsons.org ꕤ To help and donate: https://bit.ly/thisisparkinsonsdonate

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