i sent everyone not living with me a letter, i wanted to keep my pd private at that time except for selected people. i described how i was diagnosed, how sure the neuros were in making their diagnosis, what treatments were available, what my prognosis might be in the next few years and when there might be a cure. saved me a lot of emotional stress.

i also emphasized that except for rare forms of the disease it wasn't inherited, i didn't want my siblings worrying nor my parents feeling guilty that they gave me some bad genes.