I live in Canada in the province of British Columbia in the city of Langley, a 1/2 hour car ride from Vancouver.
What I have to offer, and by the way i am not selling anything. I am here to share my experiences which i hope will move you perhaps towards a different place. For some you may all ready be there. I am positive that others have had similar experiences as I. Although i am not able to make a physical presence, I hope that these spinets of my journey will inspire those of you that live with PD..................................... Anyway this is my mission....
I have had PD for 14 years. My main interest in joining your forum is to promote the use of alternate forms of therapy that have assisted me, as my PD has progressed. I fully understand " what works for me may not work for you" contrary to achieving sexual equality, we as the recipients of PD do not always exhibit the same symptoms or the same reactions. As it is said especially in your part of the world.... "what is good for the goose may not be good for the gander" .........I hope that just being exposed to different experiences will perhaps motivate those with PD and even those that do not have PD to an increased awareness of ones ability to cope and to continue to enjoy and be enjoyed by others.
One of the most traumatic yet latent outcomes of Pd in my experience, and I know this is a common occurrence, is the loss of self esteem and self respect. The emergence of this non physical but emotional state of mind can be attributed to many variables, some predictable and others only attributable to ones individuality. It is commonly said that those that have PD as individuals do not exhibit all the same symptoms, although getting through a door way especially when the door is opened is common for most of us . That's another story. The most identifiable symptoms of PD are tremor related. Those that have this manifestation of the continuous constant shaking or tremors carry a heavy load. I myself only experience tremors when I am exhausted and weak, I have other perhaps less identifiable symptoms that have greatly impacted my life. The sight of this physical manifestation of PD on the observer immediately establishes an assumed outcome. .... That there is something wrong with this person, and in 99% of the time the visual interpretation of this uncontrollable and involuntary movement defines itself as being symptomatic of some medical condition. There was a time when I intentionally made a point when the opportunity presented itself of making sure that when I was confronted with that piercing and inquisitive “glance”, that i made it known tat I had PD. Now a days thanks to the media exposure of PD by celebrities who share in our new direction in life, I find that a lot of people approach me and are usually more knowledgeable and informed and are able to relate those symptoms as being attributable to PD. Yet there are a few who interpret those visuals as being associated with being mentally challenged or even inebriated. Even more so when you are not in possession of a cane (that's another story). Usually the conversation would go like something like this "Hey, I know, you have Parkinson’s just like what’s his name….”. Or on a more personal level “my uncle had Parkinson’s…. how is he doing …he died last year” For the longest time I would always ask “how old was he when he died and how long did he have PD for?” My main focus being the anticipated end of the road and not the journey that would take me there. A motivational therapist told me after 5 years of focusing and trying to come to terms with the end , and at the start of my journey.... “people with PD all end up in the same place, what is important for you and even more so for those that support you, is how you get there, emotionally and physically.” Has your journey started or are you still trying to figure out how it is going to end?
