Shakin' Street — A Parkinson's Blog

Kristin Rehder

In 2019, well into a highly-regarded career in documentary photography, Kristin Rehder was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. A pronounced hand tremor made it impossible to hold the camera still enough to capture the kind of images she’d been able to take.

“When I got Parkinson’s,” she later said, “everything I knew about focusing and a still camera, and clarity of image… all of that went out the window.”

For a while, Rehder stopped taking pictures. But she had an epiphany one day in the park, and decided to see what kind of art a shaking hand could produce.

By allowing my animated hand to direct the camera while shooting with a very slow shutter, I simply give my shaking its due. Together, my tremor, the camera, and the movements of nature help me create a different kind of art, converting what some perceive as a disability into the opposite—into possibility and positive energy, into a mounting sense of wonder.

The result was The TREMOR Projects: Reflections on the Nature of Parkinson’s, a series of exhibitions of nature photography taken in Lancaster, PA and Lopez Island, Washington.

Instead of ending her career, Kristin Rehder used a chronic illness to transform her art into something different, unique, and compelling. Here’s how she’s chosen to look at Parkinson’s:

“It’s not disability. It’s a possibility.”

Nenad Bach

Born in Croatia and now living in the United States, musician Nenad Bach became an international star in the 90’s, sharing the stage with Bono, Luciano Pavarotti, and others.

In 2010, after developing a tremor in his right hand, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Within a few years, he coudn’t play the guitar well enough to perform in public.

One day, a friend invited him to play table tennis. Afterwards, Bach felt better, so he played again. His ping pong sessions became once a week, then twice a week, and then three times.

Over time, his motor symptoms improved. Within a year he was able to play guitar on stage again.

He credits table tennis with the return of his musical abilities, and became so enthusiastic that he co-founded PingPongParkinson, an international organization that promotes the game around the world.

There are now over 200 PingPongParkinson chapters in 26 countries.

Parkinson’s forced Kristin Rehder and Nenad Bach to reinvent themselves. Ultimately, that reinvention caused both of them to make a very different impact on the world — Rehder by developing (ahem) a new kind of photography, and Bach by establishing an organization that’s improved the lives of thousands of Parkies around the world.

And…Me?

Like Rehder’s photography and Bach’s music, Parkinson’s upended my career.

I’d been planning to work until at least 70, assuming I’d have plenty of time to enjoy retirement after that. I loved my job and was pretty good at it. Parkinson’s made it tough to do the job at the level I expected, and after a while it wasn’t fun anymore.

I retired at 64.

My full-time profession these days is fending off the disease, and trying to figure out how to give this new job the kind of meaning that Rehder and Bach have found.

I’m taking small steps in that direction. This blog is one attempt. And I recently signed up to be a peer mentor at Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, helping newly-diagnosed people navigate the challenges this disease brings.

In the meantime, I’ve found a gym full of Parkies who trade information, lift each other up, and tell offensive jokes. They are my people. If you ignore the “progressive neurological disease” thing, retirement’s been a blast.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’m grateful for some of the things Parkinson’s has brought into my life. It’s a gift I’d return if I could, but a gift nonetheless.

*Thank you to blog readers Ben and Dave for bringing these stories to my attention.

Bonus for Those Who Read to the Bottom

Here are three unusual interpretations of Bruce Springsteen songs.

Pinkies out!

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Gloriously overrought punk/metal by Wolfsbane.

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I don’t know what kind of music this is, exactly. But I know what I like.