Parkinson's Awareness Month:30 Days-30 Stories/Day 29-Parkinson's Potpourri
We're down to the last two days of Parkinson's Awareness Month and they belong to me. When I first came up with the idea of doing this series, I didn't think I'd have enough to make it through 30 of these. I was wrong. So I'm taking today to deal with things on my mind.
1. Awareness
Let's start with what this month is all about...becoming aware that Parkinson's exist. There are about 1 million people in the US with Parkinson's Disease. It a very small percentage of the population. Considering that, we get a lot of publicity. Does it help that when you see Muhammad Ali, Michael J. Fox and now Linda Ronstadt, PD is one of the first things that come to your mind? ABSOLUTELY!!
There are other diseases with a lot more people suffering, that get a lot less pub. So while having an Awareness month is a great thing, having the faces of the disease being worldwide celebrities is a lot more important.
2. Accidents Will Happen
I only talk about myself occasionally and when I do, I try to limit it to the funny things. But are there events that happen that alter my life? ABSOLUTELY!!
Ten days ago, I had plans to go out and listen to some music. A group of people I've known for most of my life were going to be there. I was looking forward to the evening. The day before I lost my balance while walking down the street and fell off the curb. I twisted my ankle bad enough I couldn't leave home much less go for a 20 mile ride. Disappointing? Yeah but I'm over it now.
A couple of days ago, I was leaving a train station and was walking through one of the revolving exits. About halfway through my body just froze up and I just stopped. That didn't keep the person behind me from continuing and the bars ended up hitting me hard from behind. Landed on the same spot where my ankle was injured the week before. Painful!!
Now in the overall scheme of things, this stuff is nothing. Is it an inconvenience? Yeah...nothing more than that but a painful inconvenience.
3. Athletes
Last week I spent a lot of time talking about athletes with Parkinson's. Taking Ali out of the equation, the other eight athletes have no idea how they acquired Parkinson's. One interesting thing is only one of the athletes with PD has died. That's Dave Jennings. He was a punter, mostly for the New York Giants, in the NFL. Not exactly a contact position. Does that mean anything? I don't know...I just think it's interesting.
Dave Jennings- NFL Player/New York Giant Punter
4. Talking it out
When I first was diagnosed with Parkinson's I needed to have an outlet to get out what I was feeling. I found a therapist. Once a week, I get an entire hour I get a chance to talk about stuff that's getting to me, without anybody making judgments. It's one of the best things I've done in years. I feel a weight off my shoulders every time I'm done. I recommend it for everyone...even those without chronic illnesses.
5. Mind and Body
All the organizations that deal with Parkinson's state the best thing you can do is remain active. They talk about yoga, tai chi and other types of exercises. All that kind of stuff keeps your body in shape. Helps avoid atrophy. Your muscles and joints feel better after using them than they do after taking a nap...although there's nothing wrong with taking a nap.
The mind is more intriguing. There's a lot of simple things you can do to keep your brain working. Recently, I saw a Parkinson's patient working on a jigsaw puzzle. I asked her about it and she said it helps her think. It's simple but it makes a lot of sense. Jigsaw and crossword puzzles. Sudoku and word games. Remember Simon? Cool electronic game where you have to remember the flashing color pattern. It's just simple stuff but it works.
6. Drugs
I'm not talking about medicine but "street drugs". I asked one of the foundations if there was any connection between Cocaine and Parkinson's? I was told that they both deal with the same section of the brain, so it's very possible. I wonder if we're going to see an outbreak of PD from people who were regular Cocaine users in the 1980's?
7. Parkinson's and other neurological diseases
Did you know that a person with Parkinson's stands a much greater chance of developing Alzheimer's than the general public? So does having PD have a direct connection to getting this horrible disease? Well...maybe, maybe not.
There's all kinds of unknown things. Let's face it, if medical professionals don't know how someone gets Parkinson's, plus there's no cure for PD, chances are they aren't going to know for sure it's connections to other things. The brain is a very tricky thing!!
8. Parkinson's and my brain
A couple of months ago, I was having some memory problems. I couldn't remember phone numbers, names of people, street locations. My short term memory was a mess.
I've always been good with long term memory. I can remember things that happened 40-50 years ago and even come up with dates of those events. You know the joke about people not remembering what they had for lunch, that really was me.
It really scared me. I thought I was starting the early stages of dementia/Alzheimer's. I didn't wait long to get into the doctor. He set me up with a neurological consult and also ran some tests that he figured the Neurologist would want done.
About a week later I get a call. I have a thyroid problem. It's working a little slow. One of the problems with that is your mind is a little foggy. I get a new med and a month later my head isn't quite as good as new but we're getting there. I've also gained about 15 pounds since the first of the year. I can also blame the thyroid thing instead of all the cookies and ice cream I've been eating. I asked how long I had to take the pill...THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!! OY!!
Did you know that only 10% of those with thyroid issues are men. So basically, I've turned into a 60 year old woman!!
I asked my doctor if having Parkinson's could have led to the Thyroid problem. He shrugged...maybe, maybe not. I say it's doubtful but hey...what do I know!!
9. Conclusions
I've rambled on for more than a thousand words and have I solved any problems? Probably not. I didn't even get to brain stimulation surgery but I need to save stuff to write about in the future. I guess my conclusion is there's a lot about Parkinson's to talk about. Thirty days isn't enough time to get to everything.
There's so much to learn about this disease and we're just beginning.
Tomorrow: The Finale