Parky positives

About Parkinson's and health Wellbeing
21
Doesn't get more positive than this ...
Leave Australia tomorrow for the Coast of Croatia to marry my beautiful fiancé.

I leave you with a special poem I wrote just for her ... For the next few weeks Parky will just have to take a back seat :grin:


I’ve walked with you

On old cobbled streets of London
In Dublin Ireland I felt the wet
Diamond studded streets of Monte Carlo
The river Seine in Paris who’d forget

The white sandy beaches of Perth
Where turquoise water meets the sand
The rocky shore of Cavtat in Croatia
I’ve walked and held your hand

Upon the island of Santorini
Where ancient Greeks would go to prey
To the gods of volcanos and oceans
On their cliffs they’d let them stay

Through the sterile streets of Berlin
The avenues in Belgrade too
The endless crowds in Hong Kong
I have also walked with you

The slums of Thailand’s Chiang Mai
Across the Tasmanian apple Isle
From Broome around to Noosa
I walked with you each mile

Our journey as two gypsies
Has but started and is grand
I’d gladly walk to any destination
If you simply hold my hand

To my Irish lass ... Eileen
Thank you for wanting to be there on my journey
22
What a wonderful way to start the day by reading your poem. Magnificent. Good Luck and Congratulations.

Lin
xx
23
Congratulations from us here in the office, Shakenbutnotstirred! Have a wonderful wedding.

24
Congratulations!!! That's such good news and you sound so happy. Congratulations to both of you. :grin::laughing::wink:
25
well Shaken
You will probably be still enjoying your new life as a married man CONGRATULATIONS.
I was inspired by your thread early August what a positive person you are it was refreshing to have some one ask the positive side of Parky. If you have read some of my threads and welcome's as a newbie you will see i am in the mind of life is for living. Now positives well you Guy's new friends new comrades in arms,i get to retire early Positive yes I love my job as a Practice nurse but did not have much time for me I live local to the practice and often was still working on the days when the kids on the street fell down the old chap with parky turned his electric car over, the neighbour in labour at NIGHT I feel I am not off duty and even when I retire I suppose i still will deal with this. But the positive is I get to go swimming, aqua arobic's lunching with friends, going to the local PD group and being involved with them meeting new PD sufferer's, I would also like to get involved in cancer support, I was diagnosed 1 month after my diagnosis of Parky with breast cancer S**ty year but I survived and am her another POSITIVE. When i was diagnosed with parky i thought how do i tell my friends (light bulb thought PARTY) I invited them to a PD party knowing I would have to explain but to my surprise they all turned up in pj's they thought i type o'd it wrong well i was in hysteric's you can see the funny side (POSITIVE) then when the cancer was diagnosed, yes you know what i am going to say PARTY through my year of ill health there was excuses to party (starting Chemo, discharge from hospital, finishing chemo etc) I remember one saturday 2 friends came at 10-30am to see if i was ok by lunch we were having nibbles and drinky poo's by midnight there were 24 friends and neighbours on my decking ordering take away what a day. So as i say life is for living i will do other things other than PARTYING things for me even when the Parky kicks me in the butt I will find a way by asking you guy's what you did to over come the restrictions this S**ty disease deals us.On the party front do this forum meet up ? so we can put face's to name's is that a Positive thought (GOT YOU THINKING I BET)
26
Hu Wifit
Here i am again i am so sad that you have been feeling like this i also am a nurse i have worked in a GP practice for 23yrs as an independent highly qualified practitioner and will be hopefully retiring soon aged 53yrs after 35yrs of nursing including training .Yes this S**ty disease has robbed me of my job but not my caring experience that I hope i can bring to my Parky friends .There are things that you can get involved with i have enrolled in research programs i am in the twin research program in London and have been from the age of 38yrs just before my diagnosis and since with cancer and PD research this keeps my brain working and reading the out comes of these research programs keep me abreast of medical advances and with out offending our Parky buddies we as nurses will be able to get more out of these papers due to our back ground.So my advice to you join your local group see if it can stimulate your brain look for avenues were your experience as a nurse can help your Parky buddies and may be you will find you are still doing what you wanted to do in life is being a nurse .What part of nursing did you work in ?. If you feel this is not helped then tell me, I will listen tell me what you miss because i am sure you are not on the scrap heap yet were do you live, I am from Sheffield. Is your your forum name due to the fact you are a wifitter ?? I have one and have not yet used it ? you can tell me and other's the benefits and what exercise programs are useful???. Fight back comment please
27
Hi everyone ... thanks for the good wishes.

My bride to be and I are sunning on coast of Croatia and will have our 4 boys fly in this weekend with another 35 friends from Oz and Europe.

The Parky positive here is our early morning 5k jog which includes the FECKER hill (My lady is Irish) which is so steep she has to convince herself she is running down hill and look at her feet to make it ... and the funny thing is at the top of the FECKER is a graveyard which over looks the ocean 200o views and a plot costs 300 Euros ...

When I get to the top I lift my arms up like Rocky Balboa and do a little dance and say "Parky cant catch me ... he only gets half way up the FECKER"

My legs are burning ... but my heart is laughing ... we marry on the 8th September. Life is grand

A little poem I wrote about his place ...

Living life without a care

The church bells chime its 6am
Time to wake and start the day
The sun is up and so are we
We run the sleepy dreams away

I see the tranquil clear water
Gently lapping at the rocks
I see boats of all sizes bobbing
As birds fly by in flocks

I see the lazy cat meander
Around the cafe dinner chair
A lone dog wandering the street
Living life without a care

The young man has his water hose
Cleaning sidewalk cobble stones
Old men out ready for coffee
Sitting like kings on thrones

I see the sunbeds white and stark
Waiting for guests to arrive
Lay out towels and soak up sun
Their stress release – revive

This is Cavtat an ancient town
On the Croatian Adriatic coast
The simple pleasure of just being
Is what I see and feel the most

You only live once ... but if you live it well ... Once is more than enough
28
:sunglasses:Hi PB , like you , i love walking , but in the mountains of Snowdonia . Parky has stopped that but he can't take away my memories .
29
what a great thread, simply because it actually makes you realsie that there may be +ve sides to PD.
The trouble is, this can sound awful cheesy. Therefore, at the risk of sounding like a fully ripe camembert:
-it has taught me to slow down ( no choice )
- I have discovered painting
- I have completed 2yrs of an MA in Philosophy ( 1 to go )
- all that matters are people

There is more.
30
absolutely non-cheesy mrs t.
are you doing philosophy at edinburgh?
i did a degree in the subject when i were a nipper. in some ways it might be better to do it when one is mature (not in the cheesy sense).
well done.
t
31
I have been umming and ahhing about about participating in this thread. Now I am going for it. I am delighted that so many of you are finding that something positive comes of having Parkinson's Disease. I admire ( and if truth be told envy) you.

But for myself, I cannot pinpoint one good thing that Parkinson's has brought me. That is not to say that a diagnosis of Pakinson's is the end of the world . It just changed my world, and I rather think that I prefered my old world, when I had more energy, more enthusiasm, and frankly better health to go about the things that I was interested in, enjoyed, was good at and was able to concentrate upon. It was a world that I knew

Ah well, perhaps it is time to change my world view?
32
AB your been honest nothing wrong in that. And I for one think like you. Would I have my old life back... in the words of Churchill............ OOOO YES!!.
33
I remain cheerful on the outside, but inside there are times when I could just jump up and down and shout "WHY ME".

On the other hand, there are worse things than PD (not many, but some I guess).

The positive thing I can think of is having my feet massaged every evening either by my husband, mum, sister, sons -just to see them all pulling together to get me through is great.

Just watching the Paralympics and wish I could be half as brave as they all are.
34
Thank you PB, It took some courage for me to post that!

And gfcexile, I recognise very well the difference between one's persona and one's true inner feelings
35
Sometimes trying to be cheerful can be really difficult, but its also hard to see the effect PD has on my family. If I let them know just how awful I feel at times, they would just worry.

Like AB it has turned my world upside down and at times I just dont know how to deal with it.
36
Hi shakenbutnotstirred
When I was dx It confirmed what I expected.found out I've had most of the. Symptoms over the last 20 years including three hernias.but people were talking neg about pd on my Facebook.so I blocked the kids off and bought a brand. New static at Skegness.now we go most weekends it's better than sitting at home worrying.

John
37
Hi

Glad your enjoying the weekends at Skegness in your static. Just need decent weather.
We all deal with the dx of PD differently. Some more positive than others. I still work full time and shall continue to do so until such a time that I am unable.
And sadly that day is nearing. Not positive about my future, but if wanting to be fit and healthy as I once was is negative. then so be it.

PB x
38
Since I began this thread I feel the need to respond to ensure this stays about positives.

I have always been a positive guy. I believed I manifested a car bay whenever I needed one. If I lost my job ... I would look for the positive. If I got sick ... I would tell myself I chose the sickness for a reason ... then tried to find a positive reason.

I believed in the following ...

Change the changeable
Accept the unchangeable
Remove yourself from the unacceptable

I believed when one door closes if you spent the rest of your life looking at that door ... you will be walking through life backwards (bumping into things) and not seeing the other doors which are open in front of you

Now with beliefs like the above ... how would I react when at 2.10pm on August 10th 2011 a Neurologist tells me you have PD young man?

Well to be honest ... I reached acceptance by 2.11pm and on my way to my car I told my partner I would write a book of poems called Shaken But Not Stirred. 6 months later I self published it.

I was fortunate enough that I could retire from work and focus on health and fitness ...

My soon to be wife and I are on an adventure which has been bought on by Parky. Do I miss the old adventure we were on? YES ... can I change it or remove myself? NO ... so I am left with accepting ...

Ask the universe to help you find positives ... don't fight by offering and focusing on limitations and you may be pleasantly surprised by the positives you find.

If nothing else ... maybe seeing others find positives may inspire you that life is not over ... but just begining
39
Hi everyone
Just on a positive side and a warning if perscribed tramadol put them in the bin,there a really bad drug.i was feeling bad dizzynessf,hardly able to walk..looked on the net people were having bad experiences with one tablet and cold turkey coming off.i was. On eight a day..I'm going through the cold turkey process now.at the moment I feel really bad and can't drive because of this drug but I'm still off to Skegness.still positive I will come out better in the end.

Twins99
40
perhaps it is a matter of attitude, perhaps it is a matter of circumstances, probably it s a mixture of both.
as the disease progresses i would imagine the positive is much less easy to maintain, particularly for those in pain, poverty or loneliness.
i would hope people don't feel bad about not having any positives - that might just reflect the circumstances they find themselves in. in particular there is no moral obligation to be cheerful.

so i am all for sharing the positives that some of us have been lucky enough to receive, but that is not to deny the negatives or disparage those of our whanau (to borrow a maori term) overwhelmed by them.