My Life With Parkinson's

Stepping up
Staying upbeat about my future definitely helps me cope with this disease. What helps even more is when I’m working hard to raise money for a cure that will alleviate suffering for the roughly 1 million other Americans with Parkinson’s disease, 400,000 of whom are women.

When I was first diagnosed, I came across the Parkinson’s Unity Walk, an annual fund-raising event. I created Team Mag Queen (“Mag” for magazine) and told my friends and family that my goal was to raise $1,000. The first donation I got was for $1,000, and in April 2005, the first year I did the walk, I wound up raising more than $60,000. Then I organized a big event to launch Punch Out Parkinson’s, a public-service-announcement campaign. That night, I secured advertising placements that equaled more than $45 million in magazine ad space. I’ve also raised $30,000 from sales of a silver Parkinson’s awareness bracelet that a friend designed. (I call it “Inspiration.”) And this spring, I couldn’t have been prouder after receiving a humanitarian award for my efforts at the Unity Walk in New York City.

Parkinson’s is a full-time job for me. I work eight hours, then I go home and continue working on awareness and fund-raising. I feel it’s a calling. When I ask myself why I have this disease, I know the answer is that I’m supposed to have it, that I’m supposed to do good with it. Still, the challenges are inescapable—and close to home. Although most Parkinson’s cases aren’t thought to be genetic, my mother was recently diagnosed. Now, I try to be her cheerleader. But I know that’s not enough.