Ahead of Little Big Town's Nashville Christmas residency, the chart-topping country artist opens up about her mother's two-decade journey.
You know Kimberly Schlapman as one-fourth of the Grammy-winning country group Little Big Town, known for their hits like “Girl Crush” and “Pontoon.” Schlapman is also a wife, mother of two, a Southern cook, and an author. But lately, the 56-year-old musician has taken on a role that’s far more personal: care partner to her mother, who’s been living with Parkinson’s disease for 20 years.
As her mom’s symptoms have progressed—affecting her balance, mobility, and independence—Schlapman has become an outspoken advocate for other families navigating the same challenges. She recently partnered with biomedical company AbbVie for the Changing the Tune of Parkinson’s Disease campaign, which encourages patients and caregivers to speak up, ask questions, and explore treatment plans.
Ahead, Schlapman tells The Healthy by Reader’s Digest what she’s learned about Parkinson’s and resilience as a caregiver—and dishes on her next project with Little Big Town: a Christmas residency at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium.
The Healthy by Reader’s Digest: Parkinson’s disease is personal for so many Americans—it’s the second-most-common neurological disease after Alzheimer’s. Can you tell us a little bit about your family’s journey, and how you’ve seen the disease progress?
Kimberly Schlapman: My mother was diagnosed 20 years ago, just after my first husband passed away. She developed a tremor, and we thought it was just because she was nervous and we were all in grief. We didn’t think much about it.
But what had also been happening with her, that she hadn’t told us, is that when she would walk, her left arm would not swing—her right arm swung, but her left arm did not. Because of that, and because of the tremor she had developed, she decided to start researching it. She called me one day, many months after my husband died, and said, “Kim, I think I have Parkinson’s.” Sure enough, she got the diagnosis shortly after that.
For probably the first 12 or 13 years, no one would have ever even known she had Parkinson’s. She carried on with her very active, normal life—she exercised a lot and did really, really well. But for about the last six to eight years, it has begun to really take a toll. Her disease has really progressed. She has a lot of physical ailments and restrictions, and just a lot of the Parkinson’s symptoms have begun to pile up on her.
That is what has my heart about the AbbVie campaign, and that’s why I teamed up with them for Changing the Tune of Parkinson’s Disease. I believe it’s incredibly important that we advocate for people living with Parkinson’s. They should advocate for themselves, of course, but when they’re not able to, we who love them have to advocate for them—for a treatment plan that suits them best.
The Healthy: What has helped your mother?
Kimberly Schlapman: My mother was walking three to four miles every day with her best friend for years and years, and we know that’s what helped her do so well. She’s always been very, very active, and when she became less stable balance-wise, she began to exercise less.
The Healthy: What were some of the symptoms or lifestyle changes your mom saw as the disease progressed?
Kimberly Schlapman: My mother’s biggest challenge is her balance. Her tremors—you can’t really see them. Her medication really takes care of that, but her balance is just off. So she has to use a rolling walker, and she has to have someone with her at all times. She has broken so many bones from her falls. She still falls really often, and she’s the toughest person I know. I mean, she’s tough as nails. Every time I see her, there’s a new bruise on her body. She’s also broken her shoulder, elbow, hand, ribs, ankle, and foot. She’s broken so many bones because of her instability. That is definitely her biggest struggle.
The Healthy: What do you think are the common misunderstandings about Parkinson’s?
Kimberly Schlapman: People just think it’s a tremor—just a physical symptom—but it is so much deeper than that. There’s so much more going on in the body besides just the shaky hand, or leg, or head. What we’ve learned over the years is that when something changes for my mother: [for example], when they tweak a medicine, if it helps, amazing, we tell the doctor. If it doesn’t help, we tell the doctor. Communication with the doctors about what’s going well, what’s not, what has changed—because it’s constantly changing for the person living with the disease—is so important.
The Healthy: The campaign emphasizes that it’s never too early or too late to ask about new options in Parkinson’s care. Tell us why that message is so important for families to hear, and what you hope people will get out of the campaign.
Kimberly Schlapman: At the beginning of the disease, when someone is first diagnosed, you just don’t know what to expect. You don’t know if it’s going to be slow-progressing or fast. Ask questions like, “What can we expect?” “What do we need to do?” Like exercise—what can we do to hold off this disease as long as we can? Physical therapy is incredibly important, and a plan with the doctor that incorporates physical therapy is crucial for the Parkinson’s patient. Movement—just don’t stop moving.
The Healthy: Caregiving can be emotionally and physically draining. What’s it been like for you to step into the role of care partner for your mother? How has that evolved, and how do you take care of yourself mentally and emotionally?
Kimberly Schlapman: Caregiving is very difficult. It’s rewarding and fulfilling, but very difficult. Caregivers are very often overlooked and forgotten about. In our family, my daddy and mother still live at home together. My daddy has his own health challenges, but my sister, brother, and I have a very close plan. We keep in close contact with each other. My sister is our quarterback—she always knows who’s scheduled to be with my mother, when my mother needs 24-hour care. She keeps up with the schedule, the doctor’s appointments, the medication—she’s always on top of all that. My brother is always there to help out with anything, and he cooks for them all the time.
We’ve learned as caregivers that we have to support each other. When you have a bad day, you’ve got to talk to somebody about it—not just keep it inside and think, “Well, I have no right to complain because look what my mother’s going through.” Caregiving is really difficult. Making sure that you have support—the people around you, your friends, your family, whomever—is crucial. Because if you’re not taking care of yourself, you’re not going to have much left to take care of the one you love.
The Healthy: As a musician, your work requires resilience, connection, and performance. Are there any parallels between your work in music and your role as a caregiver and advocate?
Kimberly Schlapman: I’d say the one thing we just talked about—having support—is very similar. If I’m on the road a lot, then my husband is at home being Mr. Mom, taking care of our kiddos and doing all those kinds of things. That support is very important, and it very much parallels support for caregivers. Also, I think the way we communicate through song and through music is similar. Seeing their symptoms, seeing what has changed—what they might not even feel inside has happened—seeing how things have changed and then helping them. Just like in music therapy, how you can bring out someone’s emotions or feel them through music.
The Healthy: What projects do you have coming up that we should have on our radar? And is there anything else you want to add about the campaign or Parkinson’s?
Kimberly Schlapman: [For] Little Big Town, we put out a Christmas record [ebtitled The Christmas Record] last year, and this year we’re doing a residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville—a Christmas residency. It’s something we’re very, very excited about coming up in a couple of months.
As far as the Parkinson’s campaign, I just want to empower people to speak up and use their voice. Whether you are someone living with Parkinson’s or you love and take care of someone who is, speak up. Ask questions. It’s never too early, it’s never too late, and there’s never a wrong question. ChangingTheTuneofPD.com is an incredible resource for both the person living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
