Fearless in the Face of Parkinson’s

Each day I wake up and defiantly get out of bed, ready to push my disease out of the way and go forward, not letting any of my limitations slow me down. With my vanity still intact and a can do attitude I embrace each day. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Images of bounding  out of bed, jumping into the alligator tank for a quick wrestle to start the day before chopping wood to heat the stove to cook a breakfast of - you guessed it - alligator steaks. Actually I have a gas stove; chopping wood sounds like a lot of work and not the best idea for someone with PD to be swinging sharp things. As for the alligator, my wife says I can’t have one. For someone with Parkinson's, the simplest things can feel like an epic struggle: getting out of your bed sheets in the morning and dressing yourself can feel like wrestling an alligator; brushing your teeth in the morning can sometimes take as much effort as chopping wood; and preparing alligator steaks would be like putting creamer in my coffee and trying to hold my spoon steady enough so most of the cereal goes in my mouth and not on the kitchen counter. The smallest of things can seem like an epic struggle for many of us with PD. So what is fearless?   

Fearless for me is still doing the small things, things that I would not have even given a second thought to before Parkinson’s. It is not running a marathon or climbing a mountain or biking 100 miles or doing those epic feats of inspiration by those special few who are battling Parkinson’s. I am talking about what other people do every day - open the toothpaste, carry a drink across the room without spilling most of it, getting my keys out of my pocket or for that matter anything out of my pockets.  

I was given some wonderful gifts over the holiday season that you would consider to be prohibited on the PD gift list if such a list existed - an iPad and a smartphone. Why would I get something that requires me to use a steady finger that I no longer have? Because I can still manage to work around my PD to do the things I want to.  Sure it’s frustrating and slow like the thought of teaching my wife to play golf. It requires patience and being just a little bit fearless. Now I had that moment of parkey doubt, thinking with the sensitivity of these devices I am never going to get any use out of them. As it turns out, I wouldn’t know what to do without my iPad and smartphone. Both are tools that I use every day. Now for me using a handheld device can be very similar to wrestling an alligator, a bit all over the place, so I have learned to make things manageable.  I set my phone down when I use it. Speakerphone and voice command features come in quite handy. Holding the phone up to my ear or getting it out in time to answer it seems like...well, you guessed it, more alligator wrestling. I put my iPad on a stand for ease of use. Taking photos or video is not so easy, but I have found a great tripod accessory that will make that much more manageable. Problem solved.

This disease can make the simplest things feel like we are wrestling alligators, so what do we do? Just stop doing the things we normally used as Parkinson’s makes them more difficult? The fear of finding out you no longer have the ability to do something is a stark reality we live with.  For me, just giving up as things become a challenge and accepting defeat instead of finding a way to work around them for as long as I can is unacceptable. Now…. if I can just keep… my computer… mouse… steady…. enough to hit….there published.          

I am Pat Younts and I Move to Live.