Living and Loving with Parkinson’s Disease: Our Partnership Through a 45-Year Journey

Annie and Rolf Lulloff were entering an exciting stage of life in 1976 when the first signs of health issues that lie ahead for Annie began to emerge. A sudden loss of sense of smell, severe anxiety attacks, vision issues, and other neurological challenges piled up, eventually culminating in a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease on New Year’s Eve, 1989.

But the Lulloffs were not about to let Parkinson’s get the best of them. They cultivated a special relationship as care partners while enjoying life to its fullest over the next thirty-one years. Their commitment to experiencing all that life has to offer strengthened their bond and established them as examples for others going through similar journeys.

Living and Loving with Parkinson’s Disease is part love story and part how-to guide for all participants in a care partnership. Care persons, their spouses, and extended family and friends will benefit from the tips and care suggestions Rolf has compiled from his front-row seat to the ever-changing road that is a Parkinson’s disease journey.

＂The sense of despair that often accompanies the loss of control from Parkinson’s can be overwhelming. Rolf and Annie Lulloff are great examples of how focusing on love and resilience makes it possible to enjoy a fulfilling quality of life.＂

-Ann McKee, MD, director of the Boston University CTE Center and UNITE brain bank