In Sickness and In Care:

A Caregiver’s Journey With Parkinson’s —

A Conversation With Paul Kidwell

On this episode of Caring in America, I had the privilege—and the heartbreak—of sitting down with someone whose story embodies the deepest realities of caregiving. For those who have followed this podcast, you know my own story: 20 years ago, my wife and I suddenly found ourselves caring for all four of our parents, a journey that lasted 14 years and changed the course of our lives.

Today, as CEO of APlan2Age, my mission is to help families understand what aging really means, and how care will impact all of us. Our guest, Paul Kidwell, has lived that impact in the most profound way.

Meet Paul: Communicator, Husband, Caregiver

Paul has lived in Boston for more than 30 years, building a long and successful career in communications—most notably within the life sciences and biotech world. But life took a turn in his mid-career when his wife began to experience unusual symptoms: persistent leg shaking and mobility issues.

Living in the heart of one of the world’s greatest medical hubs, Paul and his wife sought answers. The diagnosis that followed was devastating: early-onset Parkinson’s disease. She was in her mid-40s.

There was no family history. She lived a healthy lifestyle. And yet, this progressive, incurable disease had entered their lives without warning.

A Long Decline—and a Love That Carried Through

For the first decade, medication helped mask many symptoms. Paul’s wife continued to work, travel, and live the life they’d built together. But Parkinson’s is relentless.

Over time, her symptoms progressed:

• Frozen gait, leaving her physically stuck in place

• Increasingly ineffective medication

• Cognitive decline, including dementia-like symptoms

• Hallucinations and delusions brought on by medication

• Emotional distress, anxiety, and frequent agitation

• Loss of mobility

• Osteoarthritis limiting her ability to even grasp objects

• Eventual dependence on a wheelchair

• Complete loss of ability to walk, bathe, dress, or eat independently

Paul became her full-time caregiver, providing 14–20 hours of care per day. He had help for four hours each morning, but the rest fell solely on him—physically, emotionally, spiritually.

For three years, he transferred her from bed to wheelchair, chair to toilet, toilet to bed. He fed her. He bathed her. He witnessed not only the physical decline of the woman he loved, but the heartbreaking cognitive changes that stole away pieces of her identity.

She passed away this past August. Peacefully. But far too soon.

Paul speaks openly about the excruciating grief that follows losing a spouse after years of intimate caregiving. It’s a pain many caregivers know but rarely talk about.