I'm David Boots and these are some of my writings that deal with Parkinson's Disease (PD), an affliction I was diagnosed with 18 years ago at the age of 32. I retired on long-term disability in September 1994 and had brain surgery (pallidotomy) in April 1997 to help me regain some of my lost abilities. Living alone with this disease has been an experience I would not wish on anyone. Single life is a challenge but adding PD to the picture makes for a most definite uphill struggle.

The following stories and letters are not going to tell you very much about the disease itself but will give you a glimpse of my life dealing with it. Some of these pieces were written before my surgery when I belonged to a PD-newsgroup; these have been edited. Others, written after my surgery, were sent to friends but are being presented here to the world for the first time.

I hope that by reading my work, you can switch places with me (if only for a little while).