In the twelfth in our series profiling the bloggers supporting the World Parkinson Congress 2019, we talk to Allison Toepperwein. The American Ninja Warrior and “badass single mum” talks about “sprinkling positivity”, not dwelling on the “what ifs” – and why her fight with Parkinson’s is all in the attitude
Describe yourself in a sentence.
A badass single mum who’s trying to sprinkle positivity around the world whilst defying Parkinson’s disease.
Do you have a particular audience in mind when you’re writing?
I write for women aged 30-60, who may or may not have the disease, and generally for anyone looking for inspiration.
Is there an aspect of Parkinson’s that you’re most passionate about?
I try to promote the idea that your attitude determines your outcome.
How widely read is your blog and in which countries?
It was very popular but unfortunately it was hacked last year. I’m in the middle of relaunching it at the moment.
Have you been surprised by the level of interest you’ve attracted?
When I began writing for the HuffPost, my audience began picking up steam. However, it wasn’t until I competed on ‘American Ninja Warrior’, as the first person with Parkinson’s, that I really saw a spike in recognition.
Which of your posts has attracted the most interest from your readers?
My piece called ‘Dating with Disease’.
Essentially, everyone has a disease. I have an apparent, physical red flag to potential suitors. However, there are alcoholics, cheaters, and egomaniacs that are more detrimental to a relationship than my disease. You just have to decide what disease you’re willing to overlook.
Which has been the most controversial?
None of my pieces have been incredibly controversial. I recently wrote a post for the World Parkinson Congress about eradicating fear from our lives. There were a couple of commenters who played devil’s advocate and tried to say that fear protects us from injury.
My argument to that is, fear is way too prevalent in society and prevents people from living a full, productive life.