while i do recognize the name, i don't think that we ever met. i'm joan, 55 yrs old & dxed for 17 yrs. i'm responding to your subject for discussion: pretending that we don't have pd. while i am sure that all of us never dreamed we would be faced w/ a diagnosis of pd; i was so relieved that it wasn't something which i considered worse that, in hindsight, my ignorance was laughable. i was so dumb that it never occured to me that it could get bad and besides, my life is such an open book that i would never get awat w. pretending anyway. my thoughts these days is when was the last time that i forgot that i have pd? it has been so long since i felt completely normal that i can't remember that sensation. now, my disease is my constant companion, reminding me every waking moment that it is here, that it is alive and that it is growing. but you know, it is that very reminding that causes me to keep up the fight, that keeps me alice and keeps me looking forward to the future!