Parkinson's Awareness Month: 30 Days- 30 Stories/ Day Two- My Story
I started writing this ChicagoNow blog about a year ago. It was a way to talk about Parkinsons and its effects on me. It's morphed into other things and other topics but that's fine. For those who are new readers, this is my story.
It started around my 60th birthday, June 2012. Little things were ocurring. Loss of smell and taste. Handwriting changes. Being off balance. A few other things. Didn't think much of it.
In late June, I was with a friend. He's a doctor in Indiana. We were walking up a ramp at Wrigley Field. He noticed I was hanging on to the rail. That was the first time someone else noticed something. He told me I should talk to my doctor. I told him I would. I didn't.
In September, we were at a Northwestern football game. He saw the same thing. He also noticed I wasn't walking in a straight line. I veer to the left.
When I said I hadn't been to a doctor, he let me have it...and good. Told me that he'd be calling every day until I took this seriously. Emails and texts, too.
I went to my primary physician. He couldn't find anything. He did refer me to an ear, nose & throat doctor. Nothing, nada, zip.
I eventually got to a Neurologist. More poking amd prodding. Two months of poking and prodding.
One of the problems with Parkinson's is there's not a single test to diagnose it. The symptoms are also the symptoms for many other things. Add in the fact that most people with this are 60 and older and the symptoms are also signs of aging. Put all this together and it makes the diagnosing of Parkinson's a bitch!
I got the news in November 2012. It was shocking but not horrendous. I was in the early stages of the disease. It wasn't going to kill me...at least not right away. The doctor said I'd probably die of something else before Parkinson's gets me. Phew. What a relief....sorta.
The next step was how to fight this. Time to do some research. I didn't like what I was reading. Side effects for PD meds are nasty. In a lot of cases, it's worse than the disease.
At that point, I was in the 30% of Parkinson's patients without tremors. I decided to forego the meds as long as possible. Is that a wise decision? Maybe not but it's my body...my choice.
Turns out I'm doing a lot of alternative medicine activities. Is it working? Sometimes yes...sometimes not so much. I'll talk more about that later in the month. Symptoms, meds and side effects, too.
How am I doing now? Not too bad. I have good days and bad days, but who doesn't? A year ago the bad days destroyed me emotionally. Today, I deal better with them. More information and experiences makes them easier to deal with. I'm on more of an even keel.
I've had a few occasions to meet other Parkinson's patients. Most are dealing with far more advanced cases than mine. They handle their problems with perserverance and dignity. They are my role models. I aim to be like them.
The writing of this blog has been very cathartic for me. I have a forum to get out stuff that I would normally internalize. How great is that!
Plus at ChicagoNow, we have a Wellness section. There are writers dealing with Cancer, MS, Lupus and other chronic diseases. Watching how they deal is very inspirational.
We also have bloggers who have lost children to horrific, catastophic diseases. I can't imagine going through that and then trying to come out of it in one piece. My troubles are miniscule in comparison.
Overall things are okay. I've figured out how to make adjustments. For me, having Parkinson's is more of an inconvenience...at least it is now. We'll see what the future brings.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for reading.
Tomorrow: Day Three- The Michael J. Fox Foundation