Parkinson’s Together

Fifteen years ago, my husband Hal was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. We had no idea what this would mean for us—or how we would get through it. Even though we shared the experience of disability intimately, we increasingly found ourselves on opposite sides of the divide created by this disease. It would have been so easy to let that disconnection grow; for each of us to feel more and more alone.

But we’re artists—Hal is a writer and I’m a visual artist—and so we began to filter our experiences through our respective art forms. Determined to not let Parkinson’s separate us, I pushed my artwork into the struggles—as well as the triumphs—of our daily life. I painted Hal and myself as we were: suffering, learning, changing. I photographed Hal when he was tired and when he was in good spirits. I drew myself, sometimes crying, sometimes full of strength. The words that appear in the film come from my journal. Hal’s own words—he has continued writing and sharing his humor and wisdom with me all along—often pop up in my art.

Illness can be devastating, but it can also be transformative. In spite of the pain and difficulty that Parkinson’s has brought with it, this has been one of the richest periods of our lives. This film is our attempt to document some part of that richness and share it with others.