Tag Archives: experience

Turns on the Carepartner Highway


I was asked by the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center to write a blog post for National Family Caregiver’s month.  Here’s the posting I submitted:

iphone 165My nineteen year  journey as a young onset Parkinson’s disease carepartner has been full of joy, adventures, excitement, challenges and new experiences. When Parkinson’s disease (PD) entered my life, it was not a shock. I met my husband, Karl, post-diagnosis.  I’ve never known Karl without Parkinson’s.

At this point, the progression of Parkinson’s is moving slowly with little impact on our lives. The most disruptive part of Parkinson’s at this moment is dealing with the unpredictability of the medications.  Not knowing if the medications will work or not work, throughout the day, makes for an always shifting agenda. No plans are set in stone.  Decisions are made on a moment by moment basis.  During the day, I may say:

“Let’s wait 30 minutes and see if the pills kick in.”

“I’ll drop you off at the restaurant and go park the car.”

“No need to come with me. I’ll run into the store and grab the item we need.”

Being mindful is one of my tools to living in each moment with peace. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s key teaching is that through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment — the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.

Mindfulness has not always been a part of my caregiving toolbox.  I work on being mindful every day with varying levels of success.  Of course, there are times where mindfulness flies out the window and anger flies in.

Renowned author and speaker on self-development and spiritual growth, Dr. Wayne Dyer says in his book, The Power of Intention:

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

I find this sentence to be profound.  It makes me think differently: change my attitude, change my focus, change my mood, and even change my mindset!  This phrase inspires me to set a tone for each moment of my day.  I invoke this phrase to improve my own mental, emotional and physical self-care.

How do you view your life?  Day? This moment?  We all have choices. Do we become so consumed by our carepartner/caregiver responsibilities that we forget we have choices? Optimism can be a choice.

Although we may be unable to change today’s challenge, maybe we can choose to see things differently? Imagine using this phrase as a filter to view your life as a Parkinson’s disease carepartner/caregiver living with daily challenges. If you are always living in the future, you cannot be in the present. I’m not naive enough to think that optimism solves all the issues that PD carepartners/caregivers face.

Take time for yourself to give yourself care.  Even the smallest change in your own care can bring you big benefits.

Angela Robb is a Parkinson’s disease (PD) carepartner and Reiki Master who shares and teaches the value of Reiki (ray-key) to the Parkinson’s community.

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Reiki, Parkinson’s and Positive Thinking – Sunday Connections webcast/online radio show


Karl and Angela recently hosted Parkinson’s Recovery – Sunday Connections online webcast and radio show.  They discussed their experiences with Reiki, how Reiki can help one improve their well-being and healing process, how Reiki can help Parkinson’s disease, and how positive thinking can benefit everyone.

Use this link to reach the replay of the webcast.  http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=40845387

When you reach this page, click the link and type in the password: karl2012

We hope you enjoy listening.

Angela & Karl

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An Introduction To Reiki


By Karl Robb

There is little doubt that human touch is of benefit to our well-being. When I speak of touch I mean it in  the most caring and compassionate of ways and not just in a sensory manner. Touch is therapeutic and I have great confidence  that it is the  highway to relief and possible healing.

If you’ve never heard of Reiki, then I hope that this posting will intrigue you enough to learn more about what it is and what it does. In the end, I hope I can encourage you to experience the power of Reiki. I think it best to get an understanding of what Reiki is from my dear friend and Reiki Master Teacher, Gilbert Gallego, who over 12 years ago showed me how Reiki could improve all aspects of my life. I have seen Reiki greatly reduce my symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, lower my stress, give me peace and calming, and provided me with a greater understanding of who I am and what I am capable of achieving. First, learn what Reiki is and where it came from and then I will tell you some amazing but true stories of what I have seen Reiki do:

This text  comes from http://www.reikijinkeido.org and Gilbert Gallego, a Reiki Master Teacher in Fairfax, VA.

Reiki is a Japanese word. The Kanji Rei means spirit, and Ki means energy or life force. In essence, Reiki can be interpreted as spiritual or universal life force energy. Reiki is also known as the Usui System of Natural Healing, a very simple technique to aid in the process of healing and many believe that it leads to a path of self-transformation. Reiki was initially brought to the United States by Mrs. Hawayo Takata, a Japanese American who studied it in Japan in the 1930’s. Reiki has since become the fast-moving energy modality in the West during the past 30 years.

Reiki was developed in the early 1900’s by a Japanese Shingon Buddhist named Mikao Usui.  Master Usui was a well-known scholar and respected healer in Kyoto who undertook an extensive study of healing phenomena as taught through history’s greatest spiritual leaders. Through his travels, research, and meditation, he was led to an ancient healing method based on a combination of Buddhist practices performed only by monks and kept as secret knowledge. It is believed that Dr. Usui learned part of this method and received special empowerments and a meditation through which he expanded his understanding of the energy of healing. He spent the rest of his life practicing and teaching this knowledge. One of his students, a medical practitioner named Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, gave this method a proper structure, which lay people, could practice. Today, this method is now known as “Reiki”.  From www.reikijinkeido.org

Twelve years ago, I knew nothing about Reiki. By total coincidence, if you believe in them, I met Gilbert, my teacher. I had heard of a therapy called Trager (which is very different than Reiki) and found that he was the nearest practitioner in my area. I went for Trager but found Reiki. My wife, Angela, who suffers from migraines came along with me to the appointment. Gilbert explained Reiki to us and we both had doubts and were wondering why we were even in his office? We were true skeptics. I was reluctant to get on the massage table (fully clothed by the way) and Angela agreed to watch but that would be the full extent of her participation–that didn’t happen!

A little over an hour later, after coming in stiff in the legs and a bit tired, I felt refreshed and rejuvenated. I felt wonderful and it showed! My face beamed and seeing this, Angela, with no hesitancy,  decided to go next. She too experienced the power  of Reiki.

This was the first step on our eleven year Reiki journey.  Twelve years later, my wife and I just completed our one year training as Reiki Masters. I have seen Reiki do some wonderful and unexplainable results for me, my wife, my animals, and friends.

Here is just a brief list of what I have experienced with Reiki:

  • I have seen Reiki stop or dramatically reduce dyskinesia (uncontrolled movement).
  • I have seen Reiki diminish or even subside headaches and pain.
  • I saw Reiki lower my mother’s blood pressure before her chemo treatment.
  • I have seen Reiki reduce stress and help improve sleep.
  • I saw Reiki drastically reduce a Cancer patient’s pain from an 8 to a 3 on a 10 point scale (10 being the highest). That patient was my mother.

These are just a few of my experiences with Reiki. If you would like to learn more, please contact me for more information.

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