Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid talks about Parkinson's

Añadido: 2026-06-10

[00:00:08]here from Ryan Reynolds, actor, entrepreneur, and advocate about his personal experience with Parkinson's related hallucinations and delusions.

[00:00:18]>> About 10 years ago, two things changed my life. Deadpool got green lit and we lost my father to Parkinson's disease.

[00:00:25]Basically, you sort of know what to expect from Parkinson's physically, but no one warned us about the hallucinations and delusions. Around 50% of people with Parkinson's endure this at some point.

[00:00:37]>> Exactly. It was brutal on him and on me and the boys. And you're not just losing your partner, but you also start to lose yourself. But today, there's more help than ever. Thank God.

[00:00:48]>> Visit more toartinsons.com to learn more and for additional resources. This podcast is sponsored by Acadia Pharmaceuticals. Ryan Reynolds is a spokesperson for Acadia. Views expressed are those of the host.

[00:01:02]Hi, and welcome to another episode of Too Young for This [ __ ] My guest today is author of the mega successful series Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid. Rachel's a fellow Canadian and hockey lover.

[00:01:14]Obviously, she's a mom to two teens, but we have something else in common. She was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease in August 2023.

[00:01:24]Today, Rachel and I chat about the whirlwind ride she's been on since the show became a monster hit, how she's dealing with the non-stop travel and events, and what the future holds for her and her characters and her writing.

[00:01:35]I hope you enjoy my chat with author Rachel Reid.

[00:01:39]Welcome to the Too Young for This [ __ ] podcast. So glad you're here. I have been watching the madness of your schedule. I'm really really grateful that you're willing to spend a few minutes with me.

[00:01:49]>> For sure.

[00:01:50]>> I was reading about how the first conversation you had with Jacob was the same week that you were diagnosed with Parkinson's, which I can't even imagine the dichotomy of those two moments. Like the highest high and the lowest low in the same week must have just been such a mindmeld for you. I don't I don't even know how you process all of that at the same time. Yeah, I was diagnosed. I think it was on a a Wednesday, I believe, and then I think Jacob reached out to me on on Sunday, like a few days later.

[00:02:24]Yeah, it was, you know, I I mean, I guess when I was diagnosed, you know, it wasn't like a shock cuz like really it takes a long time as I'm sure you know, to be diagnosed.

[00:02:37]>> How long was it for you? How long before you had symptoms were you diagnosed? I had the symptoms for I mean I had the tremor in my hand for probably a year and a half, something like that. Like consistently to the point where I was like, "Okay, this is obviously not going away."

[00:02:52]And the first time I went to my doctor about it, she said, "It's definitely not Parkinson's because it would look different." And so I said, "That's great news, but what is it?" It just didn't really stop. Then I was like, "Maybe it's an essential tremor." So, I was doing research into that, which that didn't sound great either cuz there's no treatment for that and it's forever. So, I was like, well, yeah, that doesn't sound a lot better. And then, um, yeah, I was looking at other possibilities and they were much worse than Parkinson's.

[00:03:20]So, I was like, let's rule those out.

[00:03:23]So, I did eventually get actually I mean, I live in Nova Scotia where, you know, it's a lovely place, but we do not have enough doctors and hospitals here for the population. It's the waiting lists are long for everything. So, I was on a long waiting list to get um an MRI and um I kind of got lucky by getting CO which triggered this weird inner ear infection which gave me non-stop vertigo for several days and made my blood pressure go crazy. So, because of all of that, they were like, "Let's give her an MRI." I was like, "Excellent."

[00:04:02]So, I got an emergency MRI and then that ruled out a bunch of the stuff that I was worried about which kind of cleared the way for the Parkinson's diagnosis.

[00:04:12]So, finally I got to see a neurologist and get that diagnosis. But the whole thing took about a year and a half, probably close to a year of me actively trying to get that diagnosis because it seemed more and more obvious that that's what it was. Like cuz the toes on my right foot were curled up all the time like involuntarily. And um I was walking weird, you know, just all all this stuff that altogether you're like, well, it's got to be this. So I just need the diagnosis so I can start the treatment.

[00:04:40]So, it was kind of a relief, you know, to get the news cuz I, you know, I could go to the pharmacy that day and pick up the prescription. That felt kind of great because it's like finally >> Yeah. some kind of relief you had and and all of that was over the course of COVID too. So it's like and for me too like I was in the midst of >> like I started to think like I do a lot of writing from from my job before I left it and I thought it's just because I'm spending so much time on my laptop like it's it has to be something related to the stress of like parenting and working in this pandemic time.

[00:05:17]>> Yeah.

[00:05:17]>> And and then not to be able to see doctors like I didn't I couldn't even see my general doctor for more than a year. we were doing it on Zoom and so it just never even came up that it could be Parkinson's >> that and they're like does anybody in your family have it and I was like no and they were like oh well it's probably not that then you know even the neurologists I saw at first at the emergency room were like well it's probably not Parkinson's you know what's so interesting is like why especially now that I know that the test for Parkinson's I mean the I know there's more and more tests available and I I eventually had a dad scan. But the first time that anyone had me do what I call the like DUI testing things. Yeah.

[00:06:01]>> Like why isn't that the first thing?

[00:06:04]Like it's such a five minute process.

[00:06:07]Like I don't understand like you and me and and I do these interviews every week. Everyone I talk to has the same a lot of us like this.

[00:06:14]>> Yeah.

[00:06:14]>> I think that's a test.

[00:06:16]>> Maybe because if they do that first then they have to like have that conversation with you like oh it could be Parkinson's. But it's literally when I found out that that was the test, I was like, "Are you kidding me?" Like, "That's all I needed to do for you to know that I have Parkinson's."

[00:06:29]>> I could have done that at home.

[00:06:30]>> You're you finally get a diagnosis, you start to feel better, and then you go go right into the process of making this book of yours, which is already beloved.

[00:06:39]I mean, Heated Rivalry was already a huge like cult classic.

[00:06:42]>> Had a nice little cult following. Yeah.

[00:06:44]for books that had never really been in bookstores or anything, it had a pretty decent, you know, it all you hope for with as an author is for your back catalog to stay in publication and continue to be sold and and all of those books in the series really did. So, especially heated rivalry. So, yeah, I was really grateful just for that level of success that I could make, you know, a nice second income off of it. And uh yeah, that was it was it was nice. Obviously uh all of that has changed in the last few months.

[00:07:20]>> And you how many books had you written?

[00:07:22]Where in the where did Hedo Rivalry fit in your writing catalog?

[00:07:28]>> So that's only the second book I wrote.

[00:07:30]So Game Changer, the Scott and Kip story would be the first one. And then Heated Rivalry was number two and then game there. I mean, The Long Game, which is their sequel, is book six in the series, which is very confusing cuz there's like three books in between that are not about them so much. Um, but then I go back to them because they were so popular. Like, by the time I got to, you know, got deeper into the series, Her Rivalry had become uh by far the most popular book in the series. And people wanted more of that couple. So, it's why book six is about them, which is an odd way to do it, but that's what I did. And that was Jacob's problem.

[00:08:09]>> You're like, figure it out. Did the series come out in Canada before it made it here to the States?

[00:08:16]>> It didn't. It didn't actually. It was supposed to. It was like down to the wire. like basically I think like it was like a couple weeks before it aired I think is when it was announced that HBO had picked it up in the States and we're going to air it at the exact same time as Canada because we you know I think everybody thought if somebody picked it up the in the states it would air later but this really worked out and I think it was a major contributing factor to how popular it became out of the gates.

[00:08:43]I think having it run in the states during the holiday season was huge. I think having it feel more like a global thing because I do think a lot of people would have just downloaded it and binged it and it wouldn't have been the same vibe of h having all the people like waiting for the next episode and having these watch parties. I think all of that really helped. Obviously, there were a lot of countries that didn't have it yet. I I do believe they were watching it one way or another, but um it still felt global as it was coming out. like Australia and New Zealand had it too uh during those first that first month that it was airing. So it felt a little global, >> a lot glo a lot global, Rachel, >> it was supposed to be Canada only. It certainly was out of the gates going to be Canada only, but um >> and so the feeling that this like this this blow up of it over the holidays, which is when I saw it and everyone I know watched it, when you're like in that January time frame or like you feel the snowball like rolling down the hill and it's building and building and building, are you are you able to sort of sit back and watch it and enjoy it?

[00:09:51]Does it feel like stressful? Like what?

[00:09:54]Tell tell me about what that must have been like in those moments where you're like is it surreal that these characters that you like created are no longer yours and they're literally being like in a good way absorbed into the universe.

[00:10:07]>> Yeah. They belong to the world now.

[00:10:08]>> Yeah. I um it was surreal for sure is probably the best word at first. I mean still is. But um yeah, the the excitement everybody had for I mean at first I was just purely happy and excited especially for everybody who works so hard on the show. I really felt like it was a really good show and so seeing it get that recognition right away made me really really you know and then as I kept going it just started to feel like things like these heated rivalry raves and like all these like things started popping up. I was like, "This doesn't feel real." Like, this is starting to take a turn where it's it's getting getting weird because like those are the characters that I made up and that now I'm seeing like I don't know. It Yeah, it feels I feel disconnected in a way that's like this can't be the same characters. This can't be the same story. It doesn't make any sense. Um, so it's been really really fun and exciting, but yeah, mostly I've just been very happy for everybody involved with the show because, you know, it was made with a lot of love and and for them to get so much love back because of it has been really great to see.

[00:11:15]>> And I think that's the reason that it resonated so much with people is that at least for me, it's truly like the sweetest love story. You were saying in one of your posts that there was a time when it would be sort of hard for you to describe what you wrote or like you you'd be a little nervous to talk about the topics.

[00:11:34]>> Joyful, sweet love. And we kept assuring people that, you know, it would have a happy ending. Nothing really bad was going to happen to these guys, but people did not believe us and they were still so surprised when it happened.

[00:11:45]People were nervous and it was like, "No, I promise it's going to be nice.

[00:11:48]Um, you're going to love it." So, how have your how have you been able to manage your symptoms through all of this? I imagine the stress of it is does it make does stress make your symptoms worse? Like >> stress makes them worse.

[00:12:01]>> Yeah.

[00:12:02]>> Not sleeping makes them worse, but I have been sleeping quite well lately.

[00:12:06]So, that's good. You know, things like exercise makes them better, which is like the kind of thing I haven't had as much time to do as I was. I was pretty good at that leading up to the show and then since the show and all the stuff there's been less time to like properly take care of myself which is bad. I know exercise makes a difference. Sitting in a confined chair is very bad.

[00:12:29]>> It's just painful. It's just painful.

[00:12:32]>> Yeah. I need to get up and walk as much as possible but on a plane that's really difficult. So >> yeah. Are you like wiped out when you come back from these trips for a little while or are you able to rebound?

[00:12:43]>> No, I'm pretty tired. Yeah. Like, and that's been kind of the hardest part about writing too is like I need to kind of recover from these trips and then and then, you know, that's also my writing time, which doesn't really work. Also, just trying to find a comfortable place to write when I'm traveling is hard because comfortable chairs are not easy to find. And yeah, I think like sometimes I book a hotel room specifically because they had a writing desk and a chair, but then I get there and the chairs like I have a hard time with chairs that like press on your sides. So like any kind of like my favorite chair is a chair with like no arms at all or extremely wide arms because if anything's like touching me, it makes me shake more. I think because I'm like maybe my muscles are tensing up to like confine myself. But but I find things like uh theater seats, going to hockey games, that kind of stuff, that's the hardest for me. Um I have to have an aisle seat with the aisle on my right side, but even then, like it's difficult to stay in that seat for a whole thing.

[00:13:48]>> Have you seen an MDS? You're seeing an MDS, a movement disorder specialist now.

[00:13:52]Is that common in Canada or is that more rare?

[00:13:56]>> Maybe in other cities. I was on a 5-year waiting list for mine and I got moved up the list. There was basically one doctor like that I could see here and or maybe two, but I I was really grateful that, you know, it was just like a a thing where Jacob was on CNN probably in December talking about he was asked like about my my Parkinson's diagnosis, but I don't think he was expecting at all and then had to kind of say something about it.

[00:14:28]>> You first met with him, did you? I mean, obviously you weren't you were never keeping this a secret, but when >> No, I didn't tell him then cuz it was still brand new.

[00:14:36]>> Yeah. You were like, "I'm going to wait."

[00:14:38]>> Yeah. I didn't I wanted him to like me.

[00:14:40]I didn't want him to like I didn't want to dump all my stuff on him.

[00:14:44]>> Trauma dump. You're like, "Well, I'm so glad I have you. Let me tell you all my childhood trauma and about Parkinson's."

[00:14:52]>> Yeah. Like, um, no, I kept that to myself for a long time. I can't remember what I told him. I told him before I met him in person for sure. I think because Yeah, I did because I always tell people usually before I meet them in person or upon meeting them so that they know what's going on cuz otherwise, you know, it's a pretty obvious elephant in the room. They're they're going to wonder why I'm shaking and I need to explain it. So, yeah, I think I did tell him before we met, but that was like a year later. like yeah, I'd say yeah, there was a good year before that initial reaching out and me going to Toronto to meet him. So I was I didn't I was like I was only telling people on a need to know basis. I didn't know how to tell my friend like how to tell everyone I knew basically.

[00:15:38]So eventually I just decided to do a post on my like like personal kind of government name Instagram that I had never used. That was just like a quick like just FYI like and try to keep it light and just like let people know it's like it's fine. I just need people to know so I don't have to tell each individual person that I see for the rest of my life that I have Parkinson's disease like I was like this will just get people spreading the word you know. So I did that and then a while later I did a post on my blog, my author website to tell people just because again I was like I was doing more and more public events and uh you know interviews where I was on camera and I was like there were more and more comments like why is she shaking? There's still if you look at any clip of me at all even ones from like last week you're going to see those comments like people still wonder. I always find it funny that they'll actually say that like like I can't imagine what's wrong with her.

[00:16:37]>> People have I know you know this so it won't be come as any surprise but no boundaries.

[00:16:41]>> People think I'm nervous and I was like if I'm that nervous like I should not be doing like a podcast or anything on stage.

[00:16:50]>> I'll be at something and someone will say you don't have to be nervous it's okay. I'm like >> yeah I get that and I get are you cold a lot?

[00:16:57]>> Yes. Is is um tremor your like dominant symptom?

[00:17:02]>> Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah.

[00:17:04]>> Yeah. And you didn't have it in your family, right?

[00:17:07]>> No. No.

[00:17:08]>> No. I am going to do the genetic test.

[00:17:12]Well, as soon as I can in Nova Scotia, I'm on the list. Just to make sure that I don't I mean, not I mean, I don't even know what you do with that information.

[00:17:19]Like, if you test positive, it's like what do you tell your kids? Maybe. Good luck. I think it's helpful just because one you can sort of rule out that hopefully for your kids.

[00:17:30]>> Yes. The hopefully the answer is no and then you can there's one less thing to worry about. Yeah. Although they can get it too. I Yeah. That doesn't mean they won't get it. Yeah.

[00:17:37]>> It is it's such an easy process. I mean you literally just like swab or spit in this little thing and it comes back and it and it comes back with like this massive list of like all these different things that means absolutely nothing to me but meant something to my doctor. So, I do think it's just another data point, you know, for help.

[00:17:54]>> I don't I'll ever know why I have it. I mean, there are theories, you know, I've talked to, you know, I kind of ran down my life history uh to a neurologist and and you know, they had some some theories, but I mean, you know, you'll never know.

[00:18:09]>> My experience has been that there are so many women like you and I who are getting it are getting it younger and younger. Is it is it truly an you know an increase in prevalence or is it just that more of us are talking about it or is it you know because I look back and I my grandmother had what we thought was a central tremor. She lived to be 96 and at the end she definitely had signs of dementia. So could it have been Parkinson for her?

[00:18:36]>> Maybe. Maybe she just was never tested and that's just the way it was when you're born in you know the early 1900s when she was born. It's like >> nobody tested her. Nobody thought so.

[00:18:46]Maybe I do have it in my family. I don't know.

[00:18:49]>> Yeah, like my dad like his mom and his grandmother both died in their 40s, I think. So, who knows, you know, like that's a question mark. So, yeah, I guess I'll find out, but as far as we know, it's there's none of it in the family.

[00:19:03]>> So, how are you feeling now? What are your you know, you talk a lot. You said you're sleeping, which is good. Sleep is such a terrible, awful thing for most people with Parkinson's. And I think when you're traveling especially like I don't even know how you're managing sleep. That is that is one of my worst enemies.

[00:19:20]>> Yeah, it was. For a long time I I would barely sleep at all and I felt awful all the time.

[00:19:28]So now I'm sleeping pretty well. I don't know what changed but you're I think just just Yeah, it probably is just exhaustion. But um I I sometimes think it's like a stress response to just not wanting to deal with anything. I'll take it for now.

[00:19:45]>> And how has your family how have they managed this diagnosis and this this explosion of your career?

[00:19:51]>> It's been a lot at once.

[00:19:52]>> Yeah, it's a lot.

[00:19:53]>> I think for them the the career success has been more annoying because it's the thing that makes me really busy and away from the house a lot. Um my kids aren't that young. They're 16 and 12. So, you know, if they were younger, I think it would be more difficult, but they're an okay age, like they understand everything that's happening. They um Yeah, they're not they can be left alone. It's not >> Yeah, >> it's not too stressful. And it actually, you know, they like their alone times.

[00:20:24]Um but yeah, I think they've been great.

[00:20:28]I mean, they are, you know, sometimes worried, but I mostly they they have a they both have great senses of humor, so they kind of like like to tease me a lot about it. They like to pretend to be overly concerned strangers all the time.

[00:20:44]That's a running joke we have. Or they'll just grab my arm and be like, "Are you okay? Are you cold?" And um that always makes me laugh. I have a non-binary youngest child and then yeah um and a 16-year-old. But yeah, they're they're just really funny and there's a lot of weird Parkinson's jokes in this house.

[00:21:06]>> Dark humor.

[00:21:08]>> Yeah, a lot of dark humor. A lot of like if we play Mario Party and there's a game, a mini game that involves mashing buttons, they'll be like, "She has an unfair advantage. She has Parkinson's powers."

[00:21:20]>> I love that. We play a lot of Mario racing, Mario Kart, whatever it's called. Super Mario, whatever. I don't know. Race. Yeah, that's like our favorite in our house.

[00:21:29]>> I have to turn the uh thing off that makes the the like the motion, I guess.

[00:21:33]Like I have to use buttons to control the car, not like move the controller >> cuz otherwise Mario's going all over the place.

[00:21:41]>> Yeah, I know. But once I was playing like a Zelda game like Tears of the Kingdom and um I was trying to aim uh Link's arrow at something and my my son was like he was like if they put sad piano music to this you could raise a lot of money for Parkinson's music.

[00:21:57]>> This is going to go viral. Mom, leave me alone.

[00:22:01]>> No, I love that. And I think it's really good because we have two kids. We have a almost 19-year-old. He'll be 19 on Monday and Sunday. and a almost 22-year-old. And like we just decided really early on that we were just going to be an open book with all of this and just say like whatever you're feeling, good, bad, scared, frightened, like embarrassed even, like if if stuff, you know, I I live my life with this disease on the internet now for better or for worse. And and so they see it all. You know, I post the good days and the bad days and I and I warn them in advance if it's like a really like what I think might be an more upsetting post for them. I try and give them a little bit of a heads up just because I don't want to scar them. And >> you know, there have been times when I'm like, "Is this okay? If I post this, is this gonna upset you?" They're always like, "No, mom. We don't care. We see it." Like, we see it every day in your in your physicality. Like, we know it's there. You're not hiding it. So, I do think that transparency with your kids is so important because the more you try and protect them, the worse it is for everybody. It's just not helpful.

[00:23:01]>> Yeah. I I felt like, you know, they were I was kind of open with them early on.

[00:23:07]Maybe maybe it wasn't the best idea about like, you know, possible roots this disease could take. They didn't like that. So, I said, but you know, none of that's happening right now, and maybe it won't. So, let's just focus on now.

[00:23:22]>> I asked my therapist before we told our kids how to do it, so I so I didn't mess up.

[00:23:27]>> Probably a better idea.

[00:23:28]>> No, but actually, she said sort of the same thing. She said to make a list of all of the places we had been and all the trips we had gone on from the time that I started having tremors and symptoms to the time that I was diagnosed, which for me was four years.

[00:23:42]And so she was like, "Say like, where have you been?" And I was like, "Oh, we hiked the Grand Canyon." Hiked. Hiked is a strong word, but we went, you know, went to Disney World. We went on all these trips. And I was like, and I had Parkinson's. We just didn't know what it was.

[00:23:54]>> Yeah. Exactly. And I think that helped them sort of frame it like, okay, well, it's been four years that she's been living with this and we've been able to do all that. So, like, at least for the short term, we're going to be okay.

[00:24:05]Like, just don't look just don't look too far down >> cuz they do. Every now and again, they'll ask me like, when does it get worse? And I was like, I don't know. And maybe there'll be a cure. Like, I don't know.

[00:24:17]>> I consider myself a happy dummy. Like, I just kind of assume that it's going to be okay. I don't know what it's going to look like or when, but I just sort of move through life like there are [ __ ] days and there are good days, but I'm hoping for the best. And do you do you find yourself like catastrophizing in the future or you just kind of like living in the moment with everything going on? I imagine it's >> dummy. Yeah. Like I >> I just assume there's smarter people than me working on treatments and and cures. I know like there are better treatments out there right now that I haven't done. So, um you know, I'm optimistic. You know, so far my symptoms have been pretty slow progressing and every time I go for, you know, I go like every six months to see my neurologist and every time they tell me I'm I'm doing very well, you know, better than, you know, the levels that they would even expect me to be at for different tests. So, you know, that makes me feel good. And I feel like it's very possible that there could be like, if not a cure, then some really good treatment that gets developed. It feels like there's been a lot of breakthroughs on this disease.

[00:25:20]So, I just hope that keeps up because I yeah, I told my kids there's a very good chance that the treatments will move faster than my symptoms. So, you know, we'll just focus on that.

[00:25:31]>> I'm heavily involved with um with the Michael J. Fox Foundation and also now have been doing some stuff with Parkinson Canada. It's true like they everyone likes to say this and I think it frustrates people in the Parkinson space because it seems like every five years people are like, "We're just five years. We're just five years."

[00:25:47]>> Yeah. I will say as I sit in I host a national conference series called PDIQ and there's there's always a panel discussion in the middle about research and about the latest in treatments and every time I sit and listen to it I'm like oh we're close like we're real close to like real meaningful change and hopefully disease modifying drugs and I know that like you know people are like okay when >> like okay I don't know >> I'd like those please. I feel like I always hear about these vague kind of like breakthroughs in Europe where they're like, "Person cured." I'm like, "Okay." And then you never hear about it again. Like, "What happened to that person?"

[00:26:22]>> No. No. I know. And and Michael J. Fox always says this and I really I really believe it. Like when there's a cure, you'll know.

[00:26:29]>> Yes.

[00:26:29]>> Everyone in the world's going to know.

[00:26:31]>> And I think talking about early onset more helps because I think a lot of people associate it as a kind of an end of life disease.

[00:26:40]>> Yeah. So, it doesn't get maybe the priority that other ones do, but >> it totally doesn't. And I think there's a I've thought a lot about this and it was so meaningful to me when I found out that it was Parkinson's because you the first thing my neurologist told me and I think I read about this too for you is like they say it's not fatal and that's great and you cling to that and you're like super super hopeful and happy about that. At the same time, when you say it's not fatal, then people tend to dismiss the seriousness of it or the, you know, the really difficult parts of it. And I have met so many people that aren't like you and me, that aren't well-managed, that don't have access to great doctors. And you think like from their point of view, like it's it's a serious serious awful tragic disease.

[00:27:27]And so it's like, >> you know, I think it's a double-edged sword. When people hear that it's not fatal, they're like, "Oh, it's just it's you can manage it. you can manage it and it it's complicated for me too because like I want to present my very real lived experience with this disease but at the same time when people look at me they're like oh you look great you look fine you look fine you know and so >> if people have an idea in their head of somebody with Parkinson's and that person is like 98 years old I don't know if what they think you're instantly going to turn into that when you're diagnosed or >> I well I wonder >> quite put it together >> you know it's like you don't h there weren't as many visual and this is why I think it's so important certain that you've been so open about yours because now we're seeing Parkinson's in all different areas of the universe, right?

[00:28:11]We have to break down that stereotype that it's a 98-year-old man who gets this disease and you know, you don't seem like the kind of person that would have hit it anyway, but like being more open about it >> really changes the trajectory of this disease because people are seeing it in the in you, in me, and others.

[00:28:27]>> I think I think that that has been a big factor. But if you're a mom who's still raising kids have this, it's it's creates a lot of challenges. And um I don't know if you like when I was diagnosed, I like immediately was looking into like what's the best like what exercises should I do or whatever.

[00:28:44]When I see that guy on American Ninja or just even in his Tik Toks, I'm like, man, stop making me look so lazy.

[00:28:50]>> He's like the nicest human. Like he literally like you want to hate him, but he's so great you can't. It's just >> but I think you know like he's a testament to the fact that like he's had it for 25 years or I think somewhere close to that and um then I've heard him talk so many times about how before he started working out he fell down the stairs with his with his infant son and he was just like he was almost immobile and then he just took it into his own hands and was like I'm going to work out every single day. Now, he's obviously taken it to the extreme, but but you know, >> yeah, I don't know if I'll get to that level, but working out every day is something I'd like to get back to and take it really seriously and make a part of my life because I do think it does make a big difference, especially just physically, but also mentally. And I think it's better for my writing, too, cuz I do have a bit of the the brain fog from this. And I do find that especially is better if I if I exercise.

[00:29:42]>> Well, in your copious free time. Yes, we'll we'll get there. We're gonna finish writing this book.

[00:29:49]>> Yeah, that's great. I'm excited for your next book. And I I think that you um once you step out of this intense time that you're in, I think you're going to look back on these days and think, "Holy [ __ ] how did I survive?"

[00:30:02]>> Yeah.

[00:30:02]>> But now that you're in it, you know, you're just you're you're >> you got to just roll with it. I'm trying to enjoy it, but it's also like I don't really have time to. But I you know, I'm very lucky in a lot of ways. So, I am just trying to enjoy it, but also uh yeah, try to take advantage of all the opportunities that are coming.

[00:30:22]>> Yeah. I mean, it's hard, right? Like, because you don't want to say no to stuff, I'm sure. Like, it's like >> I've learned the last few months have been I was talking about this yesterday with my therapist. I was like, I've really learned over the last few months like a lot about the kinds of things like I can and should say no to cuz I was saying yes to a lot and just because I wasn't sure what what would be good or not because the last few months were supposed to be for writing but instead they were for everything but writing. As women, I mean, maybe you're different than I am, but like as women, I feel like if I say no to stuff, people are gonna be like annoyed or like, "Oh, she thinks she's so great now. Like, she's too good for us."

[00:31:02]>> And I've had to say no to so many things that I I do feel bad about. And some of them were like Parkinson's related or other kind of fundraiser or charity related, but that's just for now because that's all stuff I really do want to do.

[00:31:14]>> Yeah.

[00:31:15]>> It's just I was stuff I couldn't do at the moment.

[00:31:18]>> Yeah. But I'm really hoping to be able to do a lot for different foundations and I know I'm very fortunate that I can very easily raise a lot of money for charity at this at this time. So, um I'd like to do that and also just awareness too. That's why I don't mind talking about it.

[00:31:37]>> I think you'll get there. You you're in survival mode right now.

[00:31:40]>> Yeah, at the moment I am. But yeah, I I hope all of those organizations will keep me in mind for the future because it's it's really just bad timing at the moment. No, I was actually in Toronto two two weeks ago for what they call the superm mom walk, which is a Oh, yeah.

[00:31:55]Mother's Day event, and I gave the little kickoff speech. And the um giveaway for the raffle, fundraising raffle on site was a cop signed copy of your book of >> I do that. I do that.

[00:32:06]>> And when when they announced it, the crowd literally like went wild.

[00:32:10]>> Yeah, it's wild. I don't know. I I've been donating things like that to different auctions and they've been going for so much money and I just >> um yeah like we did we did this the center dinner in New York City. The center is an LGBTQ uh center. It helps a lot of people and has since the 80s. We were there like uh Jacob and Brendan from the show donated um two kind of set visits, walk-on parts, dinner with select cast kind of things and they went for $125,000 each. So that was like a quarter million dollars raised for the center just from these two things which feels really good that we can like raise that kind of money. So yeah, I told the actors, you got to be nice to these guys.

[00:32:53]>> And I saw you were out in um LA with my friends at HFC. I used to work for Seth and Lauren. Yeah. Which is a great great organization.

[00:33:02]>> They they do great work um in the Alzheimer's space. So you're you're doing it. You're you're giving you're very generous with your time, Rachel.

[00:33:09]Yeah, that was very nice of them to invite me. Yeah, it was it was nice to go out there and and I don't know, that's a great organization. I think it it's really nice to have an organization that focuses on the caregivers cuz that's a really tough tough job. So, I like them. I I thank God every single day that I'm the one with Parkinson's and not my husband because he is the most patient, amazing, caring, kind human being. And I would be the complete opposite. Like if it were him that had this and and I were the care partner, I'd be like, "Get up. Stop complaining.

[00:33:43]Go work out."

[00:33:44]>> Yeah. My my husband's great. And >> yeah, what's this all been like for him?

[00:33:49]Is he just like sitting back watching and like >> think he's worried like but he's been really great about everything you know he's really taken charge of a lot of things like around the house. Um uh I think I mean it's also largely to give me space to to write. It's not just about the disease, but um yeah, it really takes charge of a lot of stuff to do with the kids and um yeah, I try to include him in any travel that I think he would enjoy as a little reward.

[00:34:25]Try to spend some time together. But yeah, it's been I mean, I think we are all going to be happier when this book is done and when I have a little bit less to do. It'll be nice to kind of see what this new life is like. you're you're you're due for some downtime for sure. Listen, I I really appreciate you talking to me and um sharing your story with the Parkinson's community because every day everywhere I go these days, they're like, "Are you going to interview Rachel? Are you going to interview Rachel?" And I was like, "Let's give the woman a break."

[00:34:54]>> Rachel Reed.

[00:34:56]>> No, it's amazing. You're you're doing good work. And I the stories are amazing, but just even just sharing your journey with Parkinson's I think is really meaningful to this community and to having people to look up to and to say like you can live a really crazy active.

[00:35:10]>> My life is great.

[00:35:12]>> I know sometimes I say and people get really mad at this and I understand why but like I say that Parkinson's has been a gift for me because it truly changed my life in good ways and in difficult ones. that, you know, we've made lemonade or, you know, lemonade out of lemons. And I think you have done this.

[00:35:28]I mean, you're you're you're on parallel tracks right now with your with your career and Parkinson's probably, but you're going to I I'm sure look back on these times and be like, "That was great." Well, thank you for your time.

[00:35:38]Good luck with the rest of the book. I hope you get some cottage time this summer. Stay in touch and good luck with everything.

[00:35:44]>> Nice to meet you. Have a good one.