Do It Now: Living Fully While Caregiving with Heather Butchen

Heather Butchen is a care partner for her husband Jeff, who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease at 51 years old. Over the past decade-plus, Heather has navigated the evolving challenges that come with a progressive disease — and a few years ago, she and Jeff reached a major milestone when he underwent Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, known as DBS.

In this episode, Heather shares practical wisdom from her caregiving journey. We talk about how she keeps a dedicated medical journal to stay organized across doctor's appointments and support group meetings, and how those notes proved invaluable when they were ready to explore DBS surgery.

Heather also shares how she and Jeff co-founded a Parkinson's support group back in 2014 that is still going strong today. She shares her "do it now" philosophy when it comes to travel, including smart tips for navigating airports with a hidden disability using the Sunflower Lanyard program. She talks candidly about the creativity it takes to keep a care partner engaged in physical activity — and why boxing has been an ideal activity for Jeff.

We also get into the tender aspects of their partnership — how they've simplified family gatherings to reduce stress, how they use conversation cards at dinner to reconnect and go deeper after 31 years of marriage, and what it has looked like to rediscover each other as their kids have grown and moved out.

And we absolutely talk about Heather's own self-care routines, which include walking catch-ups with friends, Pilates, Mahjong, and her favorite snacks.

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