Kathleen Dolan started playing the guitar when she was just a teenager.But three years ago, plucking her guitar strings was one of the first things to go.then she couldn’t cut green beans for Thanksgiving dinner.then she could barely hold a coffee cup steady.for three years, Dolan knew something was wrong. she just didn’t know what to call it.Now she does: Parkinson’s disease.At just age 47, this Maple Glen resident has been diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease.Since it is a disease that typically affects the elderly and men, Dolan has found it difficult to find others in her same position. But she has turned that difficulty into a personal mission, setting out to create a support group for people with Parkinson’s in the local area.An Oreland native who has spent the last nine years in Maple Glen, Dolan seemed to have everything going for her. She’s the mother of two grown children and works as the director of talent management for a consulting firm.then, about three years back, at age 44, Dolan realized something wasn’t right.“I noticed my hand wasn’t working right, and it was starting to shake,” she said.The realization came to a head on Mother’s Day 2007. while out with some of her friends for coffee, she couldn’t hold her cup steady, and her friends told her she needed to have it checked out.she went to doctors, who did tests for an array of diseases, such as a brain tumor, MS and ALS. They all came back negative.The doctors suggested one more thing: begin taking drugs that address Parkinson’s disease. Thinking she was too young to have that disease, Dolan declined.But a few years later, she was back for more tests.“My symptoms were getting worse, so I went back to some new doctors,” she said. “This time I was willing to give the Parkinson’s drugs a test.”The drugs quickly proved to be helpful, addressing the symptoms she’d been living with for years. On Oct. 4, 2010, at age 47, she was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson’s disease.a progressive disorder of the central nervous system, Parkinson’s disease causes decreases in spontaneous movements, postural instability and tremors, among other symptoms, and impacts 1.5 million Americans, according to the American Parkinson Disease Association’s website. The disease usually occurs in people age 60 and older, but a percentage of cases affect people younger than 50, which are classified as young onset Parkinson’s disease.“It’s a chronic degenerative disease that’s not going to get better, and there’s no cure,” Dolan said. “I’m young to get this disease. It’s scary because I’m as good as I’m ever going to be. Unless there’s a cure — and I hope there is — it’s only going to get worse.”Dolan said the diagnosis hit her and her family hard at first.“it was a big surprise,” she said.Dolan said she made it through that initial shock thanks to support from her family and friends, along with her faith the scientific community will discover a cure.Now, Dolan is taking her diagnosis in stride and focusing on living a full life.“I said to myself, ‘I’m no different than I was yesterday; now it just has a name,’” she said.And the medications have helped Dolan tremendously.she can help prepare family dinners. She’s taken her guitar out of its three-year retirement and plays often.But she knows the success can’t last forever.while she’s found support in her loved ones, Dolan has yet to be able to reach out to others in her same situation.Dolan said despite increased attention for Parkinson’s disease due to celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, those with the disease mostly remain a silent community.“With Parkinson’s disease, it normally happens to older people,” she said. “They don’t have the energy or the active community to spread the word to get a cure.”Dolan reached out to the American Parkinson Disease Association National Young Onset Center.“They tried to help me find a support group in the area, but they couldn’t,” she said.so Dolan has taken up the charge to create one. The organization provided her with a leadership packet on forming a group. Now she’s hoping to reach out to others in the area facing Parkinson’s, especially the young onset form, along with finding a place to donate monthly meeting space.Dolan said while there’s a plethora of scientific information about Parkinson’s, having face-to-face interactions with others in her plight would be something she can’t find in textbooks.“That would help me to be able to share on the more personal, emotional level,” she said. “People who share a common burden gain strength through sharing. Maybe there are people who feel the same way, who feel alone. I would love to help others feel part of a community — not different, not to feel there’s nothing they can do.”Those who are interested in joining the support group or gaining more information can contact Dolan at YOPDsg.ud@gmail.com.Thomas Celona can be reached at tcelona@montgomerynews.com, or you may comment on this story below.

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