How can people understand what it means to have PD when even those who love us most don't really get it?

A great example involves my best friend who I've known for 34 years now. She and her husband came to my house last summer to pick me up to go to dinner followed by a concert. As often happens when I'm trying to get somewhere on time, I was in a royal state of "off" and wasn't ready to go when they arrived. Watching me struggle for several minutes, trying to tie my shoe, my friend finally asked if I wanted help. I joked that "only if she wanted to make it to the concert that night!" So, she tied my shoe and off we went. Later that night, noticing that my shoe was untied again, she asked me if I wanted her to tie it. I told her "no thanks" and with the expertise developed over 40+ years of shoe tying, I swiftly re-tied my shoe. She looked at her husband in total shock and said "She couldn't do that - at all - three hours ago!"

She knows I have good days and bad days, good hours and bad hours. But I guess she just hadn't really grasped before the wide swing I can have in my abilities from one moment to the next.

If someone who's known me for 34 years, someone totally close to me without actually living with me, if someone like that doesn't truly grasp what PD does to me, how can we expect total strangers to? PD is shaking to the general population, shaking done by elderly people. How can we make others understand the total grip that PD has on all the facets of our lives? If even just the physical challenges aren't totally understood, how do others understand the mental changes that may occur, the memory loss, the depression, the unfounded fears that can develop, etc.etc. etc.

I'm not sure what the answer is. Educate people one by one is a start!