One month into the new year, are you already tired of hearing about the exercise program your  ‘friends’ on FB are doing? I know I am! 

Perhaps you’re reading others very public goals and thinking, “yeah, that’s great but, I have  Parkinsons Disease!”. 

Well, hold on now. There is one thing I do know; persons with Parkinson's disease must  exercise daily. “Exercise can decrease your symptoms, help your medication work better and  this is the big one, may even slow disease progression…” this according to Dr. Rachel Dolhun,  movement disorder specialist and lifestyle medicine physician at The Michael J. Fox Foundation  for Parkinson's Research. 

“I have REM Behavior Sleep Disorder” I announced very matter of factly. The response, “What is that!?” someone asked. I responded, “REM Behavior Sleep Disorder (aka RBD) is a sleep disorder that causes people to act out their dreams while in the REM stage of sleep. “Basically, you are physically and/or vocally acting out your dreams.”

Hello, my name is Denise Rieman. I am a Registered Nurse educated at the University of Cincinnati. I am a lifetime resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. I have been living with Parkinson's Disease for over nine years. My journey with Parkinson's began following two years of failure to diagnose. Having to advocate for myself to reach a diagnosis of Parkinson's, I am passionate about advocating for persons unable to navigate the healthcare system themselves and raising awareness about the disease. The years since have been challenging, but it has also taught me a lot about resilience, hope, and the importance of community.