Staying Connected and Parkinson's

I think it would be easy to start losing connections to things as Parkinson's becomes more challenging. I am losing the connection between me and my body as things progress. I keep reconnecting through physical activity (move to live). I keep my mind sharp by using it in game play and other activities as not to lose the connection between me and my cognitivity, but the thing that I make sure I stay connected to the most is people. We can start to isolate ourselves with Parkinson's. As things become awkward, we start to feel embarrassed. We don't like to be looked at and felt sorry for - our pride and dignity challenged by our disease. Our shell becomes fragile and we start to feel vulnerable so we avoid social situations. We protect ourselves from this by retreating and losing our connections with friends and family. 

I am a personal trainer and am still able to train my clients. I was at the gym the other day working out my client and dear friend Cindy when another member came in. She walked near us on her way to the dressing room. We made eye contact, I smiled, and she smiled back. I think eye contact and a smile is a wonderful way to connect with someone. We made another connection a second later when her eyes shifted from my eyes and then to my shaking hand. Smile gone, she glanced back up, then quickly away from me and hurried past. I might just have had a scarlet P on my forehead.

Earlier that same day in the gym I was working out with my training partner Big Mike. As I finished my set on the bench press and sat up, one of the regular members, a powerlifter who I always chat with, said, "I noticed you really steady out when you lift." We had never discussed my PD, only talked about training. The subject never came up. He looked past the shaking and connected to what I was accomplishing. In just a matter of an hour, a positive and a negative.

We are all citizens of the same planet, dividing ourselves with borders like race, religion and politics, fear of what we do not understand. We fail to connect to each other. When we chose to connect with someone, we now feel responsible for them. When we see tragedy befall another country, the devastation of a natural disaster, and we connect to another peoples problem, all of the sudden they are no longer a race or a country, they are human. So it was hard for that young woman to connect with me because we might have a conversation at the gym, she might have to ask me why my hand shakes, and then she might have to care about Parkinson's. That would mean she might feel responsible to help in some way. When we chose not to connect, to isolate ourselves, we eliminate the chance to spread awareness about our disease. We don't allow people to care and if people don't care, we will never find a cure.

We can't lose this connectivity to people. PD is not our identity. It is our cause. I find the strength to battle it multiplied by my wife and children, every family member, every friend, and everyone who looks past the disease and still sees the person. Always remember who you are, stay connected, and stay strong.

I am Pat Younts and I move to live.