Skip to main content

Not 20 Anymore

 Three years ago today I heard those words, "You have Parkinson's Disease."  If you had told me then that in three years I would be healthier, stronger, and more confident, I would not have believed you.  That day, I believed it was all going to be downhill from there.  There have definitely been some challenges but everyone has challenges and I have to remember that sometimes, life's challenges are just a normal part of life and getting older.  After all, I'm not 20 anymore.

PD or Normal Life?

If you have been diagnosed with something serious like PD, you may tend to blame everything on your disease.  I know that I do this on a regular basis.

My stiff and achy joints must be a result of PD and not the fact that I just spent hours at the gym working really hard... and I'm not 20 anymore.

My need to grab glasses to read on a regular basis must be PD affecting my eyes and not the fact that all my friends without PD are doing the same thing...and I'm not 20 anymore.

My croaky voice must be my dopamine stores depleting and not the fact that I just spent the last hour or so coaching a Rock Steady class  trying to make my voice heard above the music and other shenanigans.

My forgetting why I walked into the kitchen must be Parkinson's cognitive decline rearing its ugly head and not the fact that I'm not 20 anymore...or 30...or 40... or even 50.

I notice when my non-PD friends and family have these same issues and I have to remember, this is just part of life and not necessarily PD.  I can remember this better when I  am well rested. This year, I have learned the importance of rest.  I work really hard at staying healthy. Life can fill up fast with hours at the gym, multiple doctor's appointments, studying the latest research, trying to eat healthy.  When I go at full speed and don't take down time, I feel it in my body, mind and soul.  I hear the whisper of PD telling me that it is still there and it has me and I better not get too confident because if I do, it will blindside me at its first opportunity.  When I am well rested, I can face the real PD challenges easier.  They are not as daunting.  And that makes life easier.

Now, I think I'll go put my feet up and maybe take a nap...oh no, is my PD making me tired or is it that I'm not 20 anymore?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Tom

I recently lost a good friend. Never would I have imagined that I would become such good buddies with a man old enough to be my dad. I met Tom over seven years ago in a Rock Steady Boxing class. I entered class as a shy, teary-eyed, newly diagnosed mess who didn't like to sweat and had never boxed. Tom quickly took me under his wing, introduced me to the movers and shakers in the local Parkinson's community and eventually recognized a potential in me to further help the community. Within a year, with the encouragement of Tom and others, I became a certified Rock Steady coach. Tom and I would go to the same conferences and seek out the newly diagnosed. Ever the salesman, Tom would ask me if I "closed the deal," meaning, did I convince someone to come to an exercise class or attend a support group. Tom knew the benefits of attending these groups and he wanted everyone else to know also. He just wanted everyone to live the best life possible, even while living

Diagnosing with Compassion and Hope

  My hackles are raised, my feathers are ruffled, my … I’m not sure I can find the words for how I am feeling.   This morning, I read a recently published article called “ Delivering the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease-setting the stage with hope and compassion.”   I am not upset that the article was written.     I am glad that the authors have brought this to the attention of others. I am upset that it needed to be written.     I just think it is common sense that when someone is given a life-changing diagnosis, it should be given with hope and compassion.     The authors note that some say the moment of diagnosis is “almost akin to a traumatic event such as the loss of a loved one.” Of course it is!     The person receiving the diagnosis is losing their future self.     Everything they thought their life would be from that moment on has now drastically changed! I would count that as traumatic.       I was one of these people over seven years ago who walked out of the Movement Disord

Out of My Mind...

If you have been living with Parkinson's for a while, you are likely living at the mercy of Parkinson's medications. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that medications are available. Without them, life would be miserable much of the time. But don't get me wrong (again), even with medication, you may feel like you are losing your mind. Early on, you take your meds on schedule, you can pretty much count on how long they will last and know what to avoid with them (protein maybe). As the years pass, and your symptoms progress, you would think you could either just, A. increase your meds or B. increase the frequency of your meds depending on what your doctor recommends. This seems logical to me. Sometimes this works, but eventually you end up with an E-ticket to the Dopacoaster. What is special about the Dopacoaster is that the tracks can change hour to hour. You took the ride yesterday and felt good. Life with PD was manageable. Today, you follow the same sche