The Authors
The people who make the Parkinson Journal possible
Jurgen Zender
Parkinson's Journal Editor, Author, Entrepreneur
My life is characterized by always having done things when the time was right. Even if occasionally I had the time, but I wasn't ready for it myself. But these are exactly the experiences that I would not want to miss under any circumstances.
I was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2019. Like many others before me, I spent the following weeks working intensively on symptoms, therapies and current research. Thanks to Google, I scoured the Internet in countless hours and, with a lot of effort, got a first overview. I quickly realized that the flood of information seems huge, but just as disorganized. Especially in the first phase, in which you have to deal mentally with the diagnosis, unnecessary fears can arise that put a lasting strain on the psyche.
The Parkinson Journal is my contribution to counteract this.
dr Andrew Becker
Medical Director and Chief Physician of Neurology at the SRH Kurpfalz Hospital in Heidelberg
dr Andreas Becker, Medical Director and Chief Physician of Neurology at the SRH Kurpfalz Hospital in Heidelberg, studied medicine in Hamburg. He spent his first clinical years under the direction of Prof. Dr. Lutz Lachenmayer at the General Hospital in Hamburg-Barmbek before moving to neurology at the University Hospital in Marburg in 2001, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Oertel changed. Among other things, he was involved in setting up the Parkinson's Competence Network and oversaw the multi-centre studies and the Brain Bank projects. In 2014 dr. Becker was appointed chief physician to Heidelberg. Dr. Becker heads the Parkinson's network RheinNeckar+ and was involved in founding the association Parkinson Networks Germany eV. Currently working Dr. Among other things, Becker and his team are involved in the creation of an ICF core set for people with Parkinson's disease in order to ensure an individual assessment of health care needs.
May Evers
Author, blogger, foundation manager
May Evers, who has Parkinson's herself, has been an "activist" in the world of Parkinson's organizations for years. Be it as a member of the board of trustees of the Hilde Ulrich Foundation, as co-editor of TeamDopamine - the dopamine book, as co-initiator of the AktivZeit Challenge or as a founding member of the German section of the PD Avengers "End with Parkinson's", May knows the disease and everyone who cares about it Combat endeavor better than almost any other. In her column she reports at irregular intervals from the world of Parkinson's foundations, self-help groups and research projects.
Gaby Fastner
Gymnastics teacher and author
Gabi Fastner is a state-certified gymnastics teacher and author of numerous fitness guides. She is known to a wide audience through her appearances in the popular television series "Tele-Gym" and her videos on YouTube, which have been viewed millions of times.
dr Martin Riegels
chemist, author
dr Martin Riegels, born in 1958, has been for 22 years
diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Until his retirement, he was plant manager of a chemical plant in Belgium
His current project:
1. Use of augmented reality to overcome gait problems (freezing), prototype can be tested; 2. Creation of progress reports; 3. PPP location in Langenfeld, currently 13 members
Catherine Wersing
Podcaster, social worker
My name is Kathrin Wersing, I was born in 1979, married to a wonderful man and we have two great children together.
I work as a social worker at a self-help association, where I support families with chronically ill children.
The diagnosis of Parkinson's caught me pretty cold at the age of 40. After the initial shock and the discussions in a self-help group for people with early Parkinson's disease, I quickly realized that we all need positive stories. Because I am convinced that positive thinking, humor and confidence contribute enormously to positively influencing the course of the disease.
That's why I decided to embark on a journey with my podcast to people who lead happy and fulfilling lives with Parkinson's. I would like to share this wealth of experience with everyone. I would be happy if you accompany me on this journey or even enrich the podcast with your story.
Laughter, spending time with family and friends, a lot of sport and exercise, music, but also the exchange with like-minded people help me in dealing with the disease.
"In the end everything will be fine.
And if it's not good yet
then it's not the end!"
Oscar Wilde
dr Marieke Schwed
sports scientist
I'm Mareike Schwed, 45 years old, doctorate in sports science, Taunuskind, movement freak and time-out specialist.
I founded the neurowerkstatt in January 2015 to accompany people with neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and polyneuropathy on their way to self-determined use of sport, training and exercise as a health resource.
dr Johannes Heimann
medical professionals
Dr. med. Johannes Heimann was a gynecologist and obstetrician during his career and has been diagnosed with Parkinson's for several years. In various Parkinson's forums he goes deeply, often also humorously, into the numerous questions of the members and regularly hits the nerve of the community with his language and choice of topics.
Amy Oranella
Occupational Therapist, Lecturer, Author
Amy Orellana has years of experience treating patients with neurological disorders in rehabilitation clinics and occupational therapy practices; She is a lecturer and member of a working group of doctors and therapists on the topic of Parkinson's.
As part of her therapeutic work, she often finds out that relatives receive too little attention. It is therefore important to her to strengthen them and support them with practical tips.
Nina Juncker
Pharmacist, video collector
Nina is a passionate video collector and researches, among other things, for the Parkinson Journal on the Internet, preferably on YouTube, for videos that present facts about Parkinson's in a clear and understandable way. Her collected works can be found on YouTube under Nina's pd toolbox.
Simply click on the image to view the toolbox.
M. Leines is different
Cameraman, producer, director
His profile
Journalist and photographer at Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation at NRK
Has worked as a cameraman/editor/producer at NRK HORDALAND
Has worked as a producer, cameraman, lighting technician at Troens Bevis Verdens Evangelisering
Worked as Service Engineer Electromedical Dept at Siemens AG
Studied Communications-drama-film at Hofstra University.
Anders has been a PwP (People with Parkinson's) for many years and devotes many of his productions to educating people about our clinical picture. A part of his life and the award-winning mini series "the dark side of Parkinson's" were translated into German by us and published here exclusively.
Louise Walther
Neuro-analyst, trainer, author
With a focus on functional neurology and neural movement training, I offer a holistic approach to physical performance. In doing so, I stand for a paradigm shift from a purely biomechanical to a neuro-biomechanical view of humans. It's not about self-optimization, but about a balance between tension and relaxation of the nervous system. Because movement and Pain arise in the brain. And I know too well what I'm talking about - I've had two emergency disc operations and have tried for years to get my pain and limitations under control. But nothing really helped. Until I learned and understood that pain originates in the brain and we have to radically rethink training.
Kristina van Eyck
Occupational therapist at Klinikum Osnabrück GmbH
Kristina van Eyck is an occupational therapist and learned about the different facets of Parkinson's disease during her work in Parkinson's complex treatment. In this context, she sees occupational therapy not just as treatment for those affected, but as advice on possibilities and suggestions for adapting, shaping and becoming active in life and everyday life - as a help self-help.
Music and dance, which have been shown to have good effects on the disease, are a particular focus of treatment.
She gives dance and rhythm courses as well as neurotango courses for Parkinson's sufferers and is a member of the Osnabrück Parkinson's Network.
Sophia Plochl
Supervisor & coach, networker, actor at the points of contact between photography and consulting
The unusual combination of two biographical events shaped the fifth decade of her life: at the age of 40 she became a mother for the first time relatively late, at the age of 47 she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in autumn 2018 at a relatively young age. Her two sons were not quite 7 and 3 years old at the time.
As a trained lawyer and supervisor, she worked for years as a consultant in the social sector until the diagnosis, went through a period of reorientation after the diagnosis, discovered the world of photography and published two books in 2020 and 2021.
Since January 2022 she has been self-employed as a supervisor and coach.
In addition to work and family, she takes enough time for sporting activities as well as rest and relaxation. Depending on her time resources, she is sometimes more or less active in the Parkinson's community.
She is particularly interested in the topics of gender, lifestyle and "normalization."
Karin Grote Westrick
Group leader THS at dPV eV
My name is Karin Grote-Westrick, born in 1972, trained real estate agent, initial diagnosis
Parkinson's disease 2011, deep brain stimulation implantation 2021.
Apparently I hadn't hit the jackpot in the lottery of life. It wasn't all planned that way! But as you know, things always turn out differently than you think. Luckily, I'm a born optimist and try to make the best of every situation. Thus, I feel forced to have been chosen by my companion Parkinson, to have earlier gained the awareness to live better in the "here and now" and not to postpone my dreams and goals until later.
In 2021 I founded a dPV eV self-help group and offer interested parties an exciting exchange of experiences or lectures on the subject of Parkinson's and deep brain stimulation every quarter. Unfortunately, even with a brain pacemaker, the illness and handicaps do not stop completely. Experience has shown that the state of mind can always be improved with tips, words of encouragement, understanding and good conversations within the regulars’ table community!
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Beate Schönwald
Beate Schönwald Parkinson Nurse Parkinson Day Clinic UKE.
My name is Beate Schönwald. I work as a Parkinson's nurse in the Parkinson's day clinic at the University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf.
In 1997 I started working as a nurse in the neurological intensive care unit at the UKE. In 2015 I completed the “Parkinson Assistant” training course.
In 2016, I completed further training to become a Parkinson’s nurse
“As a passionate kickboxer, I was thrilled to see boxing and martial arts available in the USA for people with Parkinson's
is offered – and how good the response is. Positive reports of improvement in motor skills, strength, balance and Quality of life from patients gave me the idea of “kick Parkinson’s”. Before the pandemic began, we did some trial sessions in the UKE day clinic.
Training sessions conducted with two participants. They were also enthusiastic and expressed their desire to continue.
We are very pleased that HUS is supporting us in this.”