A year and a month to the date I started this journey. Officially, the diagnosis — you have Parkinson’s — and shortly after, I chose the mantra: Fabulously trembling as always.
I can’t tell you why I chose it. When I first said it, it just fit. And I kept saying it, to the point where it became a running joke among the people around me — that I’m fabulous, trembling as always.
I couldn’t tell you why I started saying it.
But today, I can tell you why I will never stop.
I’ve said it more than a thousand times. It’s always been met with laughter, with surprise, with a smile. Today, I said it like any other normal day. A gentleman walked up to my booth at an auto show and said, “How are you?”
“Fabulously trembling as always,” I said.
He looked up and smiled — and then he said, “Thank you for saying that.”
I was taken back. “Excuse me?”
He informed me that he was diagnosed three years ago. You could see the weight on his shoulders just standing there.
I said, “Oh — you’re my brother. Welcome to the family.”
He smiled. A smile that hadn’t dawned on that face in quite some time. We exchanged a few words, and then he went on his way.
When you are true to yourself, you will always have an impact on someone else.
Not because you planned it. Not because you rehearsed it. But because authenticity travels — it moves through a room before you even open your mouth. It lands on people who are starving for proof that they are not alone.
He didn’t need a speech. He needed three words said without apology. Fabulously Trembling as always. That’s it. That was enough.
Because somewhere in this world, right now, someone is hiding their tremor under a sleeve. Someone is rehearsing a steady voice before they answer the phone. Someone is standing at a booth, at a show, in a crowd — carrying a diagnosis like a stone they haven’t told anyone about yet.
And all they need is to hear one person say it out loud. Unashamed. Even with a smile.
You don’t have to be loud to be a light. You just have to be honest. You just have to show up as exactly who you are — shaking hands, slow steps, off days and all — and let that be enough.
You are enough
Because someone, somewhere, is waiting for permission to believe the same thing about themselves.
You’ll never know every life you touch. But touch them anyway. Tremble anyway. Smile anyway.
Be fabulous anyway.
About the Author: Eric Aquino
In 2018, at age 40, Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Determined to help others facing the same challenges, he founded the Stay Strong Foundation that fall. Over the next six years, Eric started three support groups, hosted three symposiums, presented a poster at the World Parkinson’s Congress in Barcelona, and participated on panels at various symposiums–all with the mission of helping people with Parkinson’s move forward with their lives. Most recently, he won a research award at PMD Alliance’s Continuing Medical Education Conference for his poster: “The T.I.M.I.N.G. Protocol: A Structured Prehospital Assessment Framework for Parkinson’s Disease,” pictured above.
Read his full bio and get in touch here.