And that BIG question is an individual one.
you asked: " . . . should I be happy that I am robbed and not killed though the robber is still in my house hiding somewhere? Live with the hope that I may be able to catch the robber some time in life. Should I be happy that my choices are not between life and death??"

The answer lies in how you view the acronym seen in the doctor's office - or the nurse's entry in the chart on the floor of the long-term residence - or the researcher's findings noted in the published results of a clinical trial - QOL.

QOL - Quality of Life. It is subjective in nature, but science tries to put it into a little box or use it as a label to measure improvement (or degeneration). What YOU perceive as quality of life is how you must answer those questions.. Some would argue that because your friend died, he/she is the loser. Others would say that knowing your life could end up worse than death, the PWP is the loser.

Whatever your answer - and it will vary from person to person - here is my interpretation: I believe in life hereafter. I believe this life is temporal. I am not being punished by having Parkinson's, and it isn't some test of my faith that I do have it. I'm sure you have heard the worn out phrase, "If life hands you lemons, make lemonade." I take it a knotch higher, "If life hands you lemons, hand them out and show others how to make lelmonade, and live with hope that somewhere along the chain of events, the lemons will stop coming. (I like iced tea better anyway.)

How much are you willing to take until you feel life isn't worth it? How can research possibly measure the answer to that in an equitable way? I don't know that answer. I only know that this is the way it is for me for a reason - and I don't think it's to see how much I can take, but how much I can give.

(not to see) "...how much I can take, but how much I can give"

Peggy, thank you for this - and to Lindy and all for this thoughtful thread.

Out of fear, I chose to wait a long time before seeking confirmation of what I knew to be Parkinson's Disease. That wait was a mistake. I could have saved myself a lot of money by seeking a diagnosis right away. I had a good job with good LTD insurance and, eventhough I knew, I threw it away. Again out of fear, I chose to accept a diagnosis of ET and drown myself in Klonapin rather than seeking another opinion until the evidence was so strong my family began insisting. Another mistake. I could have avoided the constant desire to go to sleep for a year.

I started making choices with a more rational motive behind them. I chose to quit work rather earlier than I thought I would. I wanted to seriously boost my exercise time and reduce the stress in my life. At last a good choice. I was able to gain strength and flexibility, to truly lower my tension level and increase my enjoyment of life. I chose to have both my knees replaced in an effort to be able to walk a little while longer before PD robbed me of that skill. I thought there was plenty of time. One replacement went bad and had to be done again so the time I was to have where I could take my grandchildren to the zoo was greatly deminished and still I can't walk properly.

Since that one good choice, my selection has been limited to choising between something bad and something worse. Not all of them are directly due to Parkinson's but most of them are due in some part to it. I chose between taking medicine that keeps me from sleeping but also keeps my legs from drawing up into knots, more medicine that enhances my ability to move but makes my hair fall out, and yet another medicine that improves my ability to control my fingers but causes my head to bob in an artificial way.

I don't like choosing and I don't like change, but I think, for the rest of my life choosing between bad and awful things is what I must do all the while watching everything change.

Your post made me cry!

There's still a lot moreo "good" in your life than "bad or awful." When we get that book published think about how much everything will change!
And we'll go together, girl.

Peg