 I started attending support groups for people with Parkinson's. Hearing patients' stories and seeing how helpless they felt in the face of the disease inspired me to try to find a way to use my research to give them back some control over their bodies and brains, empowering them to manage the symptoms they felt were managing them. During this time, I never imagined my work would benefit my father a decade later when he, too, was diagnosed with Parkinson's.