More Than Support: A Sibling's Transformation at the #WPC2023

Dave and Rob Warner in Barcelona

My name is Dave Warner, I don’t have Parkinson’s disease.  I accompanied my brother Rob, to Barcelona, who has Early-Onset Parkinson’s Disease.  I was there for three reasons.  First, to provide assistance to my brother, if he needed it – he didn’t need it much at all. Second, to learn what I can about the research, treatments, and care strategies that appear to be helpful.  Lastly, I just love spending time with my brother.  We have been close all our lives and I always love being with him.  

I was so impressed with the strength of character, humor and genuine kindness of the many people I met there.  I was pleasantly surprised with the level of candor I observed.  There seems to be a general open agreement that having Parkinson’s just plain sucks!   But with that, I observed a general determined optimism to live life as best as possible anyway.  There is little, if any, desire to receive pity; but there is a growing sense of urgency, bordering on impatience, to meaningfully address this disease on the national and world level.

I appreciated the urgency that I sensed among the researchers and physicians regarding efforts to address causes, improve treatments, and find cures.  I was also concerned when I see the community appear to latch on to singular answers.   It is important that we not let our hunger for a solution eliminate our responsibility to rigorously assess alternate paths of progress.  

My favorite speaker was Connie Phinney.  Her raw honesty about the challenges of caregiving (and strategies to address them) touched my heart;  and clarified for me how I can help my brother and sister-in-law.  

Most importantly, to me, and I don’t know exactly why or how, the overall experience changed me personally.  It made me more informed, with a desire to be more engaged.  I cried at the conclusion of the closing ceremonies.  Attending WPC2023 was not just something I did to support my brother.  The experience blessed me personally far more than I expected or even hoped.