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Welcome to our new list members, David, i've been trying to write a helpful response to your letter. I was about your wife's age when diagnosed, and although we didn't have young children, we had two teenagers to deal with (another story!!). I also freaked out when i heard the doctor say - "I think you have Parkinson's Disease" and also worried about being able to be a good parent. I think Gail's reply says just about everything i would say. Thanks Gail - It's reassuring to me also, diagnosed 6 years ago, to hear from someone like you who has been livinig with PD for 13 years. I'll just add that the most important words for me to hear from my husband after my diagnosis was that our life and future might be different from what we had planned, but that we would still have a future together. I also had to come to understand for myself that i was still the same person despite having Parkinson's, and that i could go on with a meaningful life. That realization did not come overnight - it was a long process. You have to be patient. Being on the Parkinsn list helped me get through the early diagnosis days and still makes a tremendous difference in coping day to day. I hope your wife reads the messages- even if she doesn't post anything yet. And she should feel free to contact people off-list if she would like to write to people individually, who are going through or were going through similar experiences. It took a number of years until i could feel comfortable attending a support group meeting in person - I was afraid to see people at more advanced stages - but when i finally did - it helped me a lot (thanks to the great people in the Parkinson's Wellness Group of Western New York). As Gail wrote, kids do adjust and often learn to be stronger and more caring people by growing up with a parent with Parkinson's. The APDA Young Onset Information and Referral Center recently published a book for children about PD - My Mommy has PD by Jan Quist- you can order it by calling the center at 800-223-9776 . Being proactive and getting involved in Parkinson's advocacy has also been a great help in coping with the disease. You'll see messages about upcoming issues on the list. Also see the PAN website - www.parkinsonsaction.org and the GrassRootsConnection - www.grassrootsconnection.com to find out what we can all do to help end PD. Best wishes, Linda Herman ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn