Shake, Rattle and Roll

Back to the Basics

When I worked  in my high-powered  career  as a Certified Public Accountant, I frequently set goals at year end.  My focus was on goals that were specific, measureable with exact deadlines, and that would lead to progress up the corporate ladder.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

Living with Parkinson’s for more than 15 years has forced me to become more flexible in my goal-setting or rather my lack of goal setting. My  goals now are quite basic: get up in the morning when I can maneuver my body out of bed, take my Parkinson’s meds every three hours during the day, walk the dog when my legs can move, respond to my email when my fingers can type, do errands when my PD meds are working, respond to telephone calls when my voice has some strength. work on my book when my brain is functioning, dance and do yoga when I have some rhythm, and prepare meals when my hands are not too shaky.

My day-to-day activities currently hinge on how my Parkinson’s body and brain are working. But lately, as my Parkinson’s progresses, my body and brain have become so  unpredictable.  For example, if my voice seems  strong during  the first five minutes of a conversation, it doesn’t mean that it won’t turn weak in the sixth minute. Or when I function well with movement, I generally don’t speak well and vice versa. I know I’m greedy. I want it all—to both walk and talk and simultaneously—imagine that!

Sure, I frequently push myself beyond the basics,  and I’m glad that I still have the perseverance to do so.

So I won’t be staying up late tonight making a list of my goals with deadlines. More likely, my husband and I will fall asleep watching TV at 9:00 PM and set the alarm for midnight so we can welcome the new year.

Happy New Year!

 

Our Favorite Things

Ten days ago my husband, Tom was in a car accident. While he was waiting in traffic, his car was rear-ended. The airbags of his car didn’t deploy, and we later learned that airbags don't deploy in rear end crashes. His steering wheel pushed into his upper body. Tom suffered pulmonary contusions (bruising of his lungs and chest) and was hospitalized for two days.

Fortunately, he is recovering. When Tom was being admitted to the hospital, one of the questions asked was “What do you need right now?” Tom quickly responded with “I need to have dinner with my wife and walk our dog.” His list of needs expanded as the day progressed and later included “I need to be OFF the liquid diet and be eating REAL food.” His list surprisingly never included a car to replace his inoperable one.

There is nothing like an accident to put things in perceptive. It forced us to appreciate what is important in life—simple every day things such as eating dinner as a family and walking the dog. It is seldom material things that are among our favorites; more often it is visiting and sharing experiences with friends and family that are the highlights of our lives.

Yesterday, Tom and I received one of our favorite things as a Christmas gift. In March, we adopted Rusty, a fearful and nervous English Springer Spaniel, from a local animal rescue. Rusty was abused by one of his previous owners. He was terrified when he saw a leash or a belt and skittish around all men. Trying to get him on a leash (even with a no-pull harness) and out for a walk seemed like an insurmountable task. However, we persevered and were able to get Rusty out for a walk a handful of times since Thanksgiving. Yesterday, Christmas Day, Tom and I took a family walk with Rusty, and we both repeatedly said, “This is the exactly what I wanted for Christmas – to take Rusty for a walk on a leash.” Rusty may also have even enjoyed it as I observed his wagging tail and his smiling face.

I’m challenging myself to identify my favorite things (and people and experiences) and fill my life with them in 2012. I challenge you to do the same. Check out “My Favorite Things” from the show “The Sound of Music” as well as the humorous version as performed by Julie Andrews at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, in October 2004.

MY FAVORITE THINGS From the Broadway Show "The Sound Of Music" (1959) (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II)

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites, when the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

Humorous version as performed by Julie Andrews at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, in October 2004:

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting

Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings

Bundles of magazines tied up in string

These are a few of my favorite things

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings

These are a few of my favorite things

When the pipes leak, when the bones creak

When the knees go bad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions

Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring

These are a few of my favorite things

Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin'

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin'

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames

When we remember our favorite things

When the joints ache, when the hips break

When the eyes grow dim

Then I remember the great life I've had

And then I don't feel so bad

Coping with the Challenges of Chronic Illness

For the past month, I felt sorry for myself living with Parkinson’s. I was weary from putting on a smiley face and being positive.

Then I got inspired.

Thankfully, what got me out of my funk was reading the article about Meredith Vieira and Richard M. Cohen’s thriving as parents and partners while managing his chronic disease, multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a chronic, progressive, nerve-destroying condition that frequently results in poor balance, limited strength and blindness.

The following tidbits from the article motivated me:

While chronic illness affects the couple’s life, it doesn’t define their life.

The couple adjusts to Cohen’s increasingly uncooperative body with a mix of realism and denial.

Cohen’s favorite coping mechanism is denial –not necessarily of the present condition but of his future.

There’s no point of losing a good day today, over the possibility of a bad day tomorrow. Cohen says, “I deny the certainty of possible outcomes.”

Chronic disease can challenge one’s faith in the future as well as one’s sense of self-worth.

It is important to keep pain and frustrations from poisoning relationships in the family.

Adapting to a chronic disease is a lifelong process. With each new loss of function, the patient and his or her family must adjust to the new limitations.

Families must learn to function without chronic disease monopolizing everyone’s attention. It is important that the family openly discuss the chronic disease but not be obsessed by it.

The course of chronic disease often parallels the indignities of aging. But with chronic disease, the process is accelerated and tinged with cruelty.

Cohen says: “People feel oddly responsible for their illnesses…It makes no sense…”

It is important to focus on what can be changed and controlled in one’s illness, not aspects which are beyond control.

Cohen’s family doesn’t consider MS to be a blessing. However, as a result of growing up around a chronic disease, his children have learned to be empathetic and patient human beings.

I encourage you to read the entire article and also get inspired at:

Stronger Together

By Margaret Guroff | from: AARP The Magazine | Dec. 2011/Jan. 2012 issue

http://www.aarp.org/relationships/friends-family/info-11-2011/vieira.html