Singing for Parkinson's Disease

Sylvia singing

Monday afternoon is karaoke time for me. Bob & Sylvia host it at a 55+ RV park not far from my home. I am under 55, but since it is open to the public, I am allowed to join in. I am the only Parkie who comes, but there is a lady with Essential Tremor who also attends, so I am not the only singer with shaking hands.

Bob wearing a halo

The people seem to look forward to my humorous song parodies and I have done 1 or 2 that I wrote about Parkinson's disease. Bob will usually say "Here comes YumaBev, I wonder what surprise she has for us today".  Last week I shocked everyone by singing the real words to a song. They clapped, but I think they were a tad disappointed. I will sing my song parodies from now on.

I sing at karaoke for several reasons.  

1. It gets me out socially. Too many Parkies hide from people because they are self-conscience. No one has ever said anything mean to me, most are supportive.
2. Singing is good exercise for our voices.
3. Singing is fun. Fun is good for everyone.

4. No one sings like the professionals do and no one cares that I sing off-key.  I have never been booed nor had tomatoes thrown at me.  
Every one claps for everyone. We dance and Bob puts on silly costumes to fit the song being sung. We laugh and have a great time!

Here is the video clip of me singing at karaoke. The song is about a runaway golf cart and it based on a true story. If you look, you can see both of my hands are shaking badly, and afterwards, the woman approaching me asks if a music stand would help me.  They all now know I have Parkinson's and encourage me, not discourage me.

  

I advise every Parkie to sing everyday. You don't need karaoke discs, just turn on the radio or type a song you like into an internet search engine and sing along.  Sing loud, sing strong, sing in the shower and sing while you do laundry. Singing will help you keep the ability to speak. Sing! Sing! Sing!  

PS And its FUN!

You can find all my videos on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ParkinsonsHumor

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon.com or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!