One of the better celebrity coming-outs I’ve read in recent memory was published today on the official website of a-ha, everyone’s favorite Norwegian synth-pop act of the 1980s. Alas, there’s no disco ball glittering from the ceiling of the closet from which the band’s enduringly handsome frontman has cautiously emerged, because Morten Harket isn’t gay. He has Parkinson’s. Is that rigidity and a touch of hypomimia on display in the first garden photo that accompanied the post, or had fillers temporarily frozen his face? I suspect the former, but never mind that. The article, which was penned by the band’s official biographer, Jan Omdahl, gets a few things wrong: Parkinson’s isn’t even close to being the most widespread neurological condition in the world. It probably isn’t the fastest-spreading neurological condition in the world, either.* But more important are the details the story gets right.
Let’s start with Harket’s explanation of his reluctance to reveal his diagnosis after keeping it private for an unspecified number of years:
“Part of me wanted to reveal it. Like I said, acknowledging the diagnosis wasn’t a problem for me; it’s my need for peace and quiet to work that has been stopping me. I’m trying the best I can to prevent my entire system from going into decline. It’s a difficult balancing act between taking the medication and managing its side effects. There’s so much to weigh up when you’re emulating the masterful way the body handles every complex movement, or social matters and invitations, or day-to-day life in general.”
Morten Harket, “Morten Harket Has Parkinson’s Disease“
If I were writing this post for a Parkinson’s blog (and I might rework it for one in the future), I’d go into greater detail about why that’s so relatable. But if you’re reading this here you’re presumably aware that I’ve flubbed that balancing act more often than not over the past two years. The struggle to keep your brain and body working as well as possible starts anew not just every morning but sometimes every few hours, due to dopamine fluctuations and medication side effects. Disruptions in routine are additional stressors that our bodies react to automatically, with no regard for our comfort. That’s not always compatible with the jobs, homes, hobbies or relationships we had in our lives pre-Parkinson’s, which poses practical and philosophical quandaries that torment me daily. Touring as an aging musician with Parkinson’s would be its own special hell.
Omdahl continues:
The effectiveness of the treatment is illustrated by the fact that it is Morten at the wheel as we drive down south. His big hands seem relaxed as he steers, he has the same muscular forearms we know from a million photos. Something is different, though, and I don’t mean the conspicuous absence of his iconic leather bracelets. It’s his voice, Morten’s unique instrument, that gives the game away. “The problems with my voice are one of many grounds for uncertainty about my creative future,” he says.
Jan Omdahl, “Morten Harket Has Parkinson’s Disease“
This should require no additional commentary for regular readers, but you can search the site for keywords like LSVT and “speech therapy” to learn more if you’re new and curious. Voice softening and swallowing and breathing complications are common and interrelated Parkinson’s symptoms, and last year I completed a monthlong speech therapy course designed to help with those things.
But the simple fact that, on good days, Morten shows virtually no sign of many of the most familiar physical symptoms of Parkinson’s, doesn’t mean that he is well. During our weekend together I am witness to a round-the-clock effort to balance medication, signals from the electrodes in his brain, sleep, blood sugar and mindset in a way that keeps the symptoms and side effects more or less in check. This isn’t always successful, and is more like a never-ending rollercoaster ride. It often affects how well he sleeps, which in turn worsens his symptoms. At irregular intervals his energy level drops and a heavy silence descends on the white summer house. It becomes obvious that the strain of talking about the disease, and of what lies ahead when it becomes public knowledge, only makes him worse, in the way that all forms of psychological stress are known to affect Parkinson’s sufferers.
Jan Omdahl, “Morten Harket Has Parkinson’s Disease“
Having already covered that a few paragraphs ago, and because I’ve complained about sleep approximately 5,000 times in previous posts, I’ll only feign confusion here and ask “Lack of sleep worsens symptoms?!” Next comes an explanation for why Harket’s hands were so steady on the wheel: he’s undergone two helpful DBS procedures but still encounters common medication challenges that make it difficult for him to work. Levodopa giveth and levodopa taketh away, which in his case means that skipping it is beneficial to his voice but detrimental to everything else. He’s sanguine about the possibility that his singing days are behind him, which is understandable — he’s 65 years old, has a large family, and has enjoyed decades of success beyond his wildest dreams — but he continues to write new music and hopes to release it one day.
That’s what I’ve been trying to do as well (with writing, not singing), and I admire him for it in the same way I admire Michael J. Fox for retiring as necessary and returning to the screen when the right opportunities appear.** What really won me over, though, was Harket’s plea for well-meaning quacks to please leave him alone:
The news of the disease will undoubtedly fill his digital and metaphorical inbox with messages of sympathy and well-intentioned suggestions for treatment and alternative remedies. He asks people to understand that this in itself is going to be a burden.
“I’m going to get so many messages about what to do and how to deal with it. Lots of suggestions for cures and whatnot, all from well-meaning people. I know there are many opinions and alternative theories, but I need to listen to the professionals I have available to me, who are taking care of this with me and for me, and who keep a close eye on developments in many areas of research taking place today. I won’t be able to process anything else.”
Jan Omdahl, “Morten Harket Has Parkinson’s Disease“
There’s much more to the article than the excerpts shared here, but before reading the whole thing you should consider alienating your pets, neighbors, roommates, spouse, or agender polyamorous partners by singing along, falsetto and all, to “Take On Me.”^ No vocal performance of mine sent my late cat Bob scrambling to the far end of the house faster than this ’80s classic, not even doo-wop, Beach Boys, or Righteous Brothers covers.
* For one thing, it’s not an infectious disease and doesn’t ‘spread’ as such. Beyond that, I’d guess that some sort of neuropathy is the neurological condition with the fastest uptick in prevalence, but Alzheimer’s might be the winner now that Baby Boomers are in their twilight years. I could pester Crankenstein about this but would rather ask the MDS later this summer. (This is also a good place to mention that yes, clickbait medical sites always list PD as one of the world’s most common neurological conditions. That doesn’t make it true. Its incidence per 100,000 people is remarkably low compared to a long list of other neurological conditions, including headaches — migraine and non-migraine — Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, essential tremor, TBI, stroke, and others I won’t bore you with.)
** It was recently announced that Fox will appear on Shrinking, a streaming show that stars Harrison Ford as a therapist with Parkinson’s.
^ Don’t change its lyrics to “Shake on me.” You’re more imaginative than that.