Heartwarming and inspiring, the World Parkinson Congress

The moment we walked in the door, it was there again. That feeling of being part of a community. A giant community of all people affected by Parkinson’s in one way or the other. People living with Parkinson’s, their care partners, health care professionals, researchers, foundations, organizations with the newest tools or innovations, they were all there during the World Parkinson Congress in Barcelona.

Attending the congress was inspiring, heartwarming and motivating. The sessions where educational, moving and even funny at times. We (finally) got to meet and catch up with our partners from Luxembourg, Norway and Australia.

We learned more about the diversity of the disease in all possible ways. Bas Bloem always says there are as many forms of Parkinson’s as there are people with parkinson’s. That really showed throughout the complete program. There were sessions on tracking, sexuality, rewriting your future, pesticides, non-motor symptoms and of course exercise. Round table discussions on diversity, apathy, the role of specific professionals and mindfulness. Films were shown, table tennis matches were played, and above all people connected.

Meeting people living with parkinson’s, their care partners and professionals from all over the world gives us all the energy we need to provide the best possible PD care for everyone who needs it. One of the things that stuck the most was a line on a card from the Michael J. Fox Foundation “Here. Until Parkinson’s isn’t.” That is exactly how we feel and the feeling we want to give everyone living with PD and everyone involved in the lives of people with PD.