Parky positives

About Parkinson's and health Wellbeing
1
We all read about the negative side of Parky ... how about you share one or two things that had Parky not paid you a visit ... you may never have done.

I will start off with two.

1. I started running on a treadmill (well walking at first) now I run 5 km straight every day and have lost 10kg.

2. I realised there were people worse off than me and have started the Happy Hands Foundation ... to help orphans in Thailand

Now over to you ... and lets make this a positive posting ... be active dont just read and leave :wink:
2
Hello Shakenbutnotstirred

Read your thread and did not want to "read and leave" without a message.

I am glad you are able to be positive and enjoying the treadmill. Good for you.
Don't want to sound negative but for me having Parkinsons is frustrating and prevents me from doing many things I once could. Having just come back from 3 days in the Lake district which I love. And have now found the simple task of walking (and that is what you do in the Lakes) so very difficult.
Not giving in to it just yet, but it does seem to be taking over.......my life.

The only thing I have not lost is a sense of humour.

PB x
3
Thank you PB ... I admire your honesty and participation.
My apology to anyone who may feel my running is in some way skiting ...
When i started i would be lucky to run 100 m ... But on a past life i trained and achieved a
Black belt ... That same determination is still in me.

Regardless of how Parky affects us (And i do know it does differently with everyone)
I started this thread because life is 10% what hapenns to you and 90% what you make if what hapenns

I have read some amazing and inspiring stories about adversity and encourage everyone to
Focus on finding at least one good thing

Thanks
4
My husband is a changed man since my Dx. He is more caring and thoughtful (well, most of the time).
We have been on holidays (a previously very rare occurance )and we are re-doing the whole house to make it look nice for my daughters wedding ( that would never have happened before PD.

I think it has made him realise that I am important to him and not just a convenience to do his washing and cook his meals!!

I much prefer this new man!
5
hello sbns
i have posted before on this, and there are almost always positives for any experience. For me pd has resulted in meeting on the internet lots of great people (and a few not so great!) and being impelled towards creativity (possibly, even probably) by the drugs, but still its something i greatly appreciate. Lastly it has caused me to study neurology which has increased my understanding (i believe) of many things.
However in the long term the negatives will gradually dwarf the positives, but positives there are.
cheers
6
Hi, SBNS.
Thought I'd better not read & leave. I can't think off hand of the positives (I'm a slow thinker), but I'm sure there are some. I'm not even suffering badly yet, so yes, there must be some.I'll go off & think about it now & get back to you. All the best. EM
7
I'm back. Positive of the moment is that i've read this post & so discovered that I don't do enough, especially while I'm still able. So DON'T JUST THINK, BUT ACT is my new motto. Byee.
8
Thanks EM ...

You are right ... do what you can whilst you can.
My wife and I are cramming 5 years plans into 2 ... just in-case.

My positive today ... and its in poem form is looking at life through the eyes of a Thai orphan ... then realising just how good I have it ... Parky or no Parky!


What I’d give for a bedside story read to me by Mum or dad

When I wake up in the morning
I look around and something just not there
No mommy … No daddy to wake me up
It really isn't fair

I have 60 friends to share my time
And there are my carers too
Sometimes we get volunteers
For excursions at the zoo

My clothes are all packed away
In my slide-out draw
My shoes are stacked in a row
With 59 others … at the door

I have food in my belly
Bath twice a day … it's really not so bad
But what I’d give for a bedside story
Read to me by Mum or dad

At least I am healthy
Unlike some children … Who have HIV
Sometimes they cry out late at night
I'm glad it’s them not me

What did I do that is so wrong?
What have I done so bad?
That I should have to live my life
Without both mum and dad

I have lived here since I was one
That was five years ago
Sometimes life just flashes by
But some days it goes real slow

I wake up often in my sleep
I'm afraid of to lose my toys
When I turn seven … Is time to move
To live with 175 older boys

No more girls to play with
I won't be the big boy any more
I've heard from other boys who’ve moved
And I'm afraid of what's in store

For 10 more years I need to wait
Until the day that I’m set free
When I can finally leave this orphanage
And rely just on me

I promise that when I have children
I will be there … To take care
To tuck them in to bed at night
And let them know I’m there

If you can share some of your wealth
For a better future is my goal
Knowing your money is helping orphans
Will be like feeding your own soul

If not for Parky visiting me ...
my wife and I never would have founded Happy Hands

http://www.happyhandsfoundation.com/
9
hi,
i admire what you are trying to do with your life but for me there is no positives in PD. I had to retire early from my profession as a nurse this was all i have ever wanted to do and had been a nurse for approx 35 yrs. Now i feel sometimes i have no purpose in life. I have had PD for 3 yrs now and i would dearly love to say that there is a positive side to it for me but sorry there isnt. On a POSITIVE note for you good luck in everything you are trying to achieve.:neutral_face:
10
With great sadness I sold my motorbike; then realised I'd got enough money to buy photographic equipment for myself and husband (including tripod to keep camera still!) Have found a new way to enjoy the countryside and express my poorly developed artisic side.
Also when I was diagnosed my o/h and I realised how important we were to each other and after 10 years living together we got wed with a great party.
11
Hi Wifit ... thanks for sharing.

I was once told when a door closes you need to turn away from it to see other doors which are open ...

Find a passion ... a purpose. Parky is not the end ... we can beat it if we can find a way to turn it into a positive. By accepting and focusing just on the negatives only brings more negatives (Sorry I have probably upset half the Forum)

A friend of mine is 37 ... she had both breasts removed in January and thought she had beaten the big C ... only for it to spread to her stomach and lungs.

She will be lucky to live for 6 months ... and not once have I heard her complain about the pain she is suffering or the life SHE wont have ... only the sorrow of not being able to be with her love ... her husband.

Glass half full or half empty ... find a passion.

Sally Mac ... fantastic open that door and enjoy the wonders

If I have offended anyone ... use the emotion of anger and direct it at Parky ... tell that parasite it wont win ...
12
Like the song says.

Accentuate the positive.
Eliminate the negative.
Latch on to the affirmative,
and don't mix with Mr.Inbetween.
13
Positives of Parky's is always going to be controversial but personally I think it's a great thread!
I'd rather have a different reason for all the things that I have had to do to cope with parky's and all the challenges, but having gone from virtual immobility to regaining the use of my body via meds and exercise, the things I wouldn't have experienced without PD include -
- learning to let people in on how I feel, and request support, find out that my good friends are in fact great friends, and my folks can cope
- focus on the here and now, do things while I can - been to India, America and shortly Africa, as well as seizing the moment at every opportunity wherever I am.
Last year i went to a UK music festival and found myself in tears as I drove onto the site. Because I didn't think I'd be able to do anything like that again, when I was really ill.
- respond to the 'sink or swim' crisis which parkys presents you with - made some big decisions in my life. It forced me to focus and act rather than procrastinate and avoid issues.
- walked over hot coals - and only realised afterwards that I didn't think for one second about PD during the entire event, and through several foot-warming journeys
- given me some empathy for the lives of the people i work with in my job, who have all gone through life-changing diagnoses.

I'd rather not have PD - but I have - out of crisis comes opportunity.
I'm young-onset so it's obvious there are negatives which would fill pages. But I shan't list them here.
14
Thank you Jo72 ... Now thats what I am talking about!
I am sitting in my car about to go to the gym ... Read your post and it has motivated me for the day.
There are plenty of other threads for negs ... Thank you again
15
Two positive things that PD has given me.
1) low blood pressure due to PD meds so I can stop my blood pressure tablets - one less pill to swallow
2) Citalaprim for anxiety so now I don't panic when going to new places!

Has to be a plus side.
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If you think you are beaten
you are

If you think you dare not
you wont

If you'd like to win but you don't think you can
Then its almost certain you wont

If you think you'll lose you've lost
For out in the World you'll find

Success begins with a persons will
It's all in your state of mind

If you think you're outclassed you are
For you have to think high to rise

You have got to be sure of yourself
If you're ever to win a prize

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster wo/man

But sooner or later the one who wins
is the one who thinks they can

If you can't find a positive ... PARKY WINS ...
17
Hello sbns,
Thanks for your reply to my post, I'm glad it hit the spot. I do think it's really important to try and identify the good bits in my life, which will help me through hard times. In a former job I worked with people in their 80s and 90s who were near the end of their lives. It was clear that for a lot of people (everyone's circumstances are different), those who coped better with this were those who had many good memories from their lives, and were pleased with that they had done. It sounds obvious, but when you have an illness that you know is likely to make life progressively harder, it makes sense to do what you can while you can. And to counteract the sense of loss, fear, insecurity etc of having PD by trying to make what you can of life. It's reasonable for me to consider that I can't wait til I retire to do things, as by the time I'm in my early 60s (or whatever the retirement age will be by then!) I'll have had PD for 30 years, and so I try to do what I can now. I want to at least be able to look back and think 'well I wish things had been different, but I gave it a good go'. It's not about denying the negatives - just about trying not to let them overwhelm you any more often than they have to. Most of us no doubt know what it's like to feel overwhelmed by PD and it ain't good, so anything we can do to get more control has to be beneficial. I spose it's a glass half full approach - I came home early last night from a social with friends cos I was so tired but at least I went out for a bit. So I feel annoyed and sad for a little while and then I have to be realistic and think well I could have stayed at home all evening.
I feel glad to live in a developed country that supplies me with medication because if this didn't happen, I'd be on the scrap heap by now, and so I'm grateful for that luck.
18
Without Parkinsons I would never have discovered I had a hidden talent for watercolour painting, although I am not quite the next Turner or Constable. Strange how the tremor virtually disappears when I'm concentrating.
19
Thanks Christo ... reminds me of a story I heard when training in Martial Arts ...

An old man crippled with arthritis barely able to walk ... slowly makes his way to the centre of the stage with his Katana (Samurai long sword)in his hand.

He kneels and assumes the meditation position ...

Then with a blur he is on his feet ... the sword slicing through the air as if in some magical dance. He twists, turns and spins ... all the while the sword movement does not stop.

After a few minutes ... he returns the sword to its sheaf and returns himself into the meditation position

He slowly stands up on shaky legs and makes his way from the stage ... barley able to walk ... once again a feeble old man.

I guess sometimes when the passion is so deep ... it has the power to transform
20
I can't think of a single thing except....

talking to internetty people who care,
finding out who true friends are
eventually enjoying retirement - it took a bit of getting used to
getting up early and doing loads of activities (as/when Parkinson's permits)
writing some good poems - I think!
realising I had a bit of inner strength
not taking life for granted

Please don't anyone ask for the down side!!!!

Lin
xx