How Parkinson's Changed Me Over the Years
Parkinson's has changed my life in ways I never could have predicted when I was first diagnosed in 2016.
It has not been a straight line. Some symptoms came early. Others appeared later. Some got worse, some improved, and some changed completely over time.
This page is a look back at how Parkinson's has affected me over the years - physically, mentally, and emotionally and how that journey ultimately became part of the reason I built Unshakeable.
2016 -The beginning
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2016 following a fall onto my shoulder.
At first, the changes were subtle. My right arm stopped swinging naturally when I walked. I also started to notice some stiffness and loss of fluid movement on that side.
At that stage, I was still able to function well, but I knew something had changed.
2017-The symptoms became more noticeable
As time went on, the physical changes became harder to ignore.
The stiffness increased, and I began noticing more difficulty with movement and coordination. Parkinson's was no longer just a diagnosis on paper it was starting to affect how I moved through daily life.
2018-New challenges appeared
By 2018, new symptoms began to show up.
I started dealing with dystonia in my neck that caused my head to turn to the right, which created painful and uncomfortable muscle contractions. That was one of the first times I really felt how unpredictable Parkinson's could be.
It was no longer just about movement looking different. It was starting to affect comfort, confidence, and quality of life.
2019-Blepharospasm
By this point, Parkinson's was becoming a bigger part of everyday life.
I developed an eye condition called blepharospasm which caused me to blink rapidly most of the time, this has thankfully gone away now
I was learning that this condition does not stay still. It evolves, and it forces you to adapt. Some days felt manageable. Others felt frustrating and discouraging.
That period taught me a lot about resilience, even if I did not think of it that way at the time.
2020-Dystonia, more disruption
As the disease progressed, I experienced additional symptoms that made life more complicated. Upper Torso Dystonia started to cause me to lean backwards when I walked which quickly caused lower back pain,
Symptoms were becoming difficult in a different way. They affected not only how I felt physically, but also how I showed up in everyday situations. Parkinson's was becoming more intrusive and more disruptive.
Movement became less predictable. Physical comfort became harder to maintain. I had to think more carefully about how I managed energy, stress, and routine.
Parkinson's was affecting more than what people could see from the outside.
2021-The invisible impact
By 2021, I had a deeper understanding of something many people do not fully appreciate about Parkinson's:
It is about far more than tremor.
It can affect movement, coordination, comfort, confidence, energy, and the way you experience day-to-day life. Some of the biggest challenges are not always obvious to other people, but they are very real when you are living with them.
2022-Dyskinesia
I developed Levodopa induced Dyskinesia which caused my whole body to move continuously, and this started to affect my daily quality of life considerably.
It was one more reminder that the condition keeps changing, and you have to keep adjusting with it.
2023-DBS surgery and a major milestone
In 2023, I underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.
That was a major milestone in my Parkinson's journey.
DBS helped improve some of my symptoms, and I was grateful for that. But like many things with Parkinson's, it was not a perfect or final solution. It was part of the journey, not the end of it.
Still, it represented hope, progress, and the willingness to keep fighting for a better quality of life.
2024-Adaptation, and experimenting
In 2024, I continued dealing with symptoms that required constant adjustment, including chronic brain fog.
That year was about adaptation. It was about continuing to experiment with various medications and supplements and figure out what helped me personally.
I am not presenting this as medical advice, only as part of my own experience living with Parkinson's.
2025-Speech changes and freezing of gait
By 2025, Parkinson's was affecting me in new ways again.
Two of the biggest challenges became stuttering and freezing of gait.
One of the things I tried was the BeechBand watch which is a device that use vibrotactile stimulation to help reduce symptoms. In my own experience, it seemed to help reduce some of my speech issues and gave me another tool to work with.
Speech changes were especially difficult because communication is such a big part of identity, confidence, and connection. Freezing of gait brought a different kind of frustration, because something as simple as walking could suddenly become much harder. I had my first fall towards the end of 2025.
Those symptoms changed how I moved, how I communicated, and how I experienced the world around me.
2026
In 2026, Parkinson's had affected my life and career to the point where I lost my job.
That was a major turning point.
It would have been easy to retreat, shrink, or let the diagnosis define the next chapter of my life. Instead, I decided to build something from it.
That decision became Unshakeable.
This brand was not created because the journey has been easy. It was created because it has been hard and because I wanted to build something that speaks to resilience, identity, and the decision to keep going anyway.
Why I'm sharing this
I am sharing this because Parkinson's is not one thing. It changes over time, and it affects each person differently.
This page is simply my experience and how the condition has changed me over the years, what I have faced, and what I have learned along the way.
It is also a big part of why Unshakeable exists.
Because this brand is not just about apparel.
It is about continuing forward, even when life changes the path.
Important Note
This page is based on my personal experience living with Parkinson's disease. It is shared for personal-story and informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.