Mar 09, 2026
3 min read
Andreas Ostern has Parkinson's.He trembles, does not sleep, and fights invisible enemies at night.Despite the bad disease, he did not want to stop shaping his life.
Andreas Estern has Parkinson's disease.He shakes, sleeps badly and fights invisible enemies at night.Despite the incurable disease, he does not want to stop shaping his life.
Cologne resident with Parkinson's 'I just take my tablet and try to live my life'
Andreas Ostern swept the racket flat along the ball below, making a fluid wrist motion that seemed to split the layers of a cake.A ping pong ball will fly and empty dots will appear behind the net, but will change its direction of flight.Like a school kid who leaves home and comes back because he forgot his lunch.It's hard to get to your opponent on the other side of the plate.A smile appeared on Andreas Ostern's face as if someone had opened the curtain of spring.
That's what happens with smiling.He can do many things, but you rarely see him.Frozen facial expressions are a symptom of Parkinson's disease."Sometimes it's not easy when you look at a face that can't fully reflect your feelings," says his wife Dorothee Dernbach.When he looks back on the moment they met ten years ago, he now suspects there were signs back then, but he couldn't quite place them.himself: Oh dear, this man is hard to read."Poker face. Mysterious. A heart you have to reach first. Dorothee Dernbach was able to do that. The two have been married for five years. Andreas has been diagnosed with Parkinson's for almost six years.
Shock changes everything
Ash Wednesday 2012 was milder than usual.It seemed to be almost the best year of his life."We had planned our wedding in May," Dernbach said, and it wasn't clear yet that the festivities had been delayed by a year because of the pandemic.Then in the evening in the day bed, Andrew's index finger suddenly began to tremble.Without stopping, "Like Morse's sign".of the brain or Parkinson's."
A few months later, I was convinced it was Parkinson's disease.The disease is complex and poorly understood.Simply put: Neurons in the brain produce the neurotransmitter dopamine.Research has identified the cause as a specific protein accumulation, but many questions remain unanswered, even by neurologists.The loss of dopamine in patients manifests itself as: movement problems, physical stiffness, tremors - but also sleep problems, digestive problems, depression.Germany About 400,000 people live;Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurological disorder after Alzheimer's.There is no solution.
An appointment with the neurologist, where Oestern's nuclear medicine imaging procedure was discussed, turned into a disillusionment.The statement was barely abbreviated: "You have Parkinson's disease, this is a prescription, you must take the medicine. Sorry, I don't have the leaflet. All the best."First, shock.Then there's the thirst for knowledge that Oestern tries to satisfy on the Internet - and quickly gives up."Everything was full. lamented. Terrible report. So I quickly closed the box."What Oestern was really looking for in the first place was something else: "Talk to other Parkinson's patients who are still alive."He understands the verb in its full, maximal way, not as a minimal survival version.Sick people travel.Try new things.What shapes their lives.
Parkimotion and Parkinossen - Oestern-Dernbachs built the networks themselves
Oestern found such people - because he was looking for them himself.He co-founded Parkimotion Cologne, a group of people with Parkinson's who feel too active to sit and prefer hiking, karate or going to the cinema.Later they created Parkinossen, in which Dorothee Dernbach and other relatives act.This connection is not a luxury, but a necessity.As Oestern learned, Parkinson's is a disease that medical science still can't control. "When you go to the doctor, there's often a helpless search for a solution. They often say: try this or that, maybe it will help."Disease in the conjunctiva.
But Ostern wants to live with a leadership attitude.Dopamine supplements every four hours keep his symptoms under control — increasing motivation, improving the ability to move, regulating feelings of reward.The price is sometimes high: shopping addiction, gambling addiction, food addiction, sex addiction—the list is, as Austern dryly notes, "a long one."He himself was lucky.There are no significant side effects.And yet the body knows, “Most patients need a dopamine pump at some point.It's getting more difficult."
There is no movement barrier at night - effect: kicks
Not only does the disease consume Western's life, it doesn't stop at the couple's relationship either.Andreas thrashes about in the night, kicking, fighting against invisible opponents - characteristic of Parkinson's.Doesn't happen every night.And proximity is important to us," says Dorothy Dernbach, and it quickly becomes clear: She's not going to let this illness drive her away.
In general, Dorothy Dernbach has not forgotten her husband since she met him ten years ago.Yes, much has changed: Andreas Ostern has not been able to work for two years.Sometimes until noon his head is like a fog.His voice is broken, his voice is silent, his notes are lost.His right leg is now shaking.Keep saving.
“I don't think about my illness all the time,” Osterne says."I'm just taking my pills and trying to live my life. We travel a lot and don't stop at anything. Who knows if I'll be able to swim down the river on a raft in five years."Of course: no research has been done on Parkinson's disease.But after all, life can't be planned either.Perhaps the latter can be better tolerated now that Osterne knows he has Parkinson's disease.
Meanwhile, the K.T.T.A. runs in the basement.at full speed.Table tennis arena in the basement, as noted on a poster on the wall.Dorothee Dernbach is not "the ball type", but with Andreas she also has ambitions."Be proud when you hit a ball that was difficult."Oestern himself is still working on his spin ball with backspin.Oestern tries. The racket hits perfectly.The ball clicks on the net.
Just a moment of Easter cheer.And bright.Curtains: Fully open.
What does it mean to live with Parkinson's disease - and how can holistic medicine help maintain quality of life?A special evening will be devoted to these issues at the workplace of the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger".The medical talk is organized in cooperation with the Parkinson self-help group Cologne of the German Parkinson Association and parkimotion.de Cologne.It is part of the Cologne Parkinson Days 2026. The guest is Dr.Sandra Szymanski.She heads neurology and complementary medicine at the August clinic in Hattingen and the certified Parkinson's department.His method combines the latest neuroscience with the powerful medicine of Ayurveda.An evening for those affected, loved ones and everyone who wants to understand more.
When and where: April 13, 7:00 pm, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Amsterdamer Straße 192, 50735 Köln.Tickets: €14.00 plus advance booking, Available at the door.
