Well done @Tot sounds like you’ve achieved a lot over the past couple of years.
Keep up the good work, hopefully it will get better and be a great benefit to you. 
I second that! X
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Thank you Liverpool1956 you’ve achieved quite a lot yourself over the past little while and long may that continue.
Thank you ElleMac it is a real motivator to push on a bit at the moment as I never really expected to be doing this well at this stage.
This month marks the 2nd anniversary of this post and it remains one of my favourite parts of the forum. I’ve been reading some of the early posts coming up to date and it is a wonderful mixture of all that’s good about life. I am grateful to everyone who posts and long may you continue to recognise the good things in life even when living with Parkinson’s nd dare I say, even sometimes because of Parkinson’s. Here’s to year three.
Tot
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Today was a good day, well yesterday actually but who’s counting, because I ran my first km something I never imagined I would be doing on my 66th birthday when I started working with my personal trainer rwo years ago. I am thrilled and delighted. I am moving from 2 to 3 sessions of one hour next month - a bit daunting but I am really keen to see how far I can go. What a brlliant thng to happen on the day I officially became a pensioner. I doubt I would be doing this if I didn’t have Parkinson’s so although I’d rather not have it, it’s almost worth it to feeel so well and positive - only almost mind it won’t stop the future getting hard but at least I will know I’ve done what I could to help myself
Tot
Recently I started jogging not far but nevertheless I was doing it but a video shot on 29th September clearly shows me very lopsided - a tendency to lean to the right being an early symptom that has always been difficult to mitigate. Since then we (my personal trainer and I) have been doing some intensive work on this. She recorded a second video last Friday and the difference was huge. I can’t show the videos but I do have a couple of stills where the difference can clearly be seen. No need to explain why today is a good day lol.
From a very chuffed Tot
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Merry Christmas Tot
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Thank you.
Today is a good day for no other reason than I am once again in awe of how strong I can be if and when I really need to be. I won’t bore you with all the detail but this year has started off on rather a rocky road, a family member and a friend both diagnosed with serious health problems, my flooring has to be relaid because it wasn’t done correctly three years ago which means I will need to move out for a second time for two - three weeks, I am starting the process to extend my lease so have needed to do a lot of research and of course there was the day to day challenge of living with Parkinson’s. I was coping with all of this until my energy company hit a major problem with my meter - it was an industry wide problem affecting many people. Their communication has been appalling - I didn’t even hear of the problem until I raised a formal complaint - but the final straw was when I got sent my usual monthly statement showing a bill for over £2500 and my account was in debit to the tune of £2000. The impact was massive and immediate, no-one was replying to my emails and when I rang was just told it was being investigated and not to worry - easier said than done and all my symptoms went into orbit. The issue has now been resolved although my complaint remains outstanding but I am resigned to waiting until my case reaches the top of a hypothetical pile. It has been truly awful and very worrying but once again I have managed to beat the odds and not let yet another curved ball knock me out. This time however was different to other hard things I have faced. I am on a fixed income and have to budget carefully and I had no idea how I was going to meet my apparent changed circumstances, even though logic was telling me this bill wasn’t right. Once again I faced a battle between my Parkinson’s brain and my logical brain and managed to finally get my rational brain into the driving seat.
As far as I am concerned my belief that how one deals with Parkinson’s or any other major health problem or situation, is reflected in the mindset one has been proven yet again. I can’t explain it, I don’t know how I do it but my apparent unshakeable belief that being positive is the key has, in my opinion, been proven again. This post is just to remind me how lucky I am to have this strong ‘spine’ to support my coping strategies and allows me to live with Parkinson’s and not see it as the main feature of either me or my life. As I have said before, it may not last forever, but overcoming this recent serious incident tells me that keeping a positive mindset is the most important thing I can give myself and that I mustn’t take it for granted.
To anyone who may read this, I hope that you are able to recognise what it is that makes it possible for you to live with Parkinson’s and get on with the life you want to have albeit maybe with a few caveats, and that you recognise the strength it gives you and not take it for granted.
Today is a good day for recognising and being grateful that I have such a strong positive mindset that always seems to come through when facing really difficult problems and situations. I consider myself very lucky to have this because undoubtedly life would be much more difficult without it.
Tot
This simply sums up what this thread is about. It may be hard to see it sometimes and sometimes we may not succeed but just because we don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there - it might be something very small and in the most unlikely of circumstances but it might be that small thing that gives us the strength to go on when it all feels a bit hopeless. Today was a good day because I found this thought provoking quote.
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The lovely Bella went to her new home today, after her owner went into residential care. We were told she would be timid and hide until she found her paws when she would be a total lap cat - someone forgot to tell Bella who had a lovely time exploring her new home and saying hello to everyone. It was wonderful to see but two things made this particular adoption extra special. Mrs G who was adopting Bella was so happy to have her and it was great to see her smile again after her much loved elderly dog, Jade, was pts recently and her previous owner, who has early stage dementia was able to understand and was very happy that Bella had found a home and would be able to see how well Bella did on arrival at her new home as her granddaughter took photos/video to show her. Days don’t get much better than that
Tot
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That’s fantastic news!
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Hello jamesburden19, young people today all too often get bad press - unfairly in my view because the few make better headlines than the majority - it was lovely to read your post and to give your friend’s son headline news even if only here on the forum. Congratulations to him and I suspect he has made ‘today a good day’ for several others including yourself. Great news.
Tot
Today was a good day indeed. I had an appointment with my Consultant and was going to ask him about the Parkinson’s Pump for Meds which has made some headlines recently. I didn’t need to, he introduced the subject himself and offered me the opportunity to be one of the first probably 10 to take part in the initial roll out in my area. He told me this was very expensive so to be selected to be one of only a few at this stage, this day could not have got any beter.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/02/nhs-rolls-out-wearable-24-hour-infusion-for-advanced-parkinsons/
Tot
You will need to zoom to see this extraordinary sight I happened to see when walking across the bridge in the village this afternoon. I have never seen anything quite like it My friend counted them and she tells me therfe are 34 babies lol Today was a good day just because I was lucky enough to witness this amazing spectacle.
I had nothing special on the agenda today but it sure didn’t end up that way. The reasons don’t really matter but I had eventually taken my complaint about my energy company to the Energy Ombudsman - not an easy decision but I had to do something, my Parkinson symptoms were paying the price with the stress it wascausing. About 10 days ago the Ombudsman’s decision came through finding in my favour. Today the energy company challenged one of the ombudsman’s decision; because he was aware of the impact on me he spoke to the reviewing team and less than three hours later had their finanl, final decision - that the appeal was rejected and the original decision would stand. Needless to say I was delighted but what really made today a good day was when the ombudsman went on to say that he and his colleagues were going to use my case to try and help others in a similar position. That was not expected but how wonderful is that. There were times when I had to dig deep to find the strength to keep going but I am so glad I did. Today was a good day for me because the original decision of the ombudsman was upheld, but it was an even better day when L was told the judgement in my case may help others in a similar position.
Tot
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Today, or to be accurate yesterday. was a good day. I walked from the next town back home along the towpath, which is a lovely walk and pre-diagnosis one I did often. I thought those days had gone when I could barely get to the towpath let alone walk along it. This was the second time I had completed this walk, I did it in May last year Nordic Walking. This time I used my rollaror as I wanted to try and up the pace and I did the 4.32 kn walk (2.68 miles if you prefer ‘old money’) in 1 hr 12 mins keeping up a steady pace throughout. I was thrilled as I managed to maintain the pace throughout. Today (yesterday) was not only a good day but one to remember
Tot
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It has been a while since I posted to ‘Today …’ because to be honest, it has not been the easiest of years and my resolve to remain positive about my Parkinson’s has at times, been sorely tested by the actions - or more accurately, the inactions - of others.
Today when searching for some clip art images to illustrate a verse I had written ready for inclusion in my latest photobook, I had a sudden brainwave and went back to the search box and typed '**Positive images of Parkinson’s ** It was a revelation, there were people out there who are able to see Parkinson’s in a positive way - no images of people with stooped posture or mind maps of all the symptoms etc that we are all so used to seeing. The first thing I saw was a small two line anonymoys quote which said ‘Parkinson’s lives with me, I don’t live with it.’ A very simple quote that can radically change one’s perception of living with Parkinson’s. There was also these two posters, one making a simple statement the other showing how humour has it’s place. I have never doubted that keeping a positive mindset makes a difference to how I view my Parkinson’s but finding these sorts of images today, has just reaffirmed this. Today was a good day because it confirned for me the importance staying positive when living with Parkinson’s in order to live a good life for as long as I can. The images I found today showed me that be adding in the word ‘positive’ the stereotype of a person with Parkinson’s can be seen in an entirely different light - and that is a simple thing to do which can give such powerful results. I will certainly be looking for other instances when I can use this again.
Tot
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This is a special announcement that isn’t actually of any consequence to anybody but me, but I felt the need to make a formal statement to make the decision I have made real to me. To remind me how I felt when I made this decision in case I doubted it later.
Today was a good day because today I made the decision to give up contributing to the forum as I have been doing for quite a long time. There are a lot of reasons for this and there are none - which I know won’t make sense to anyone but it does to me. So today I say a quiet goodbye on the page that I have enjoyed so much. I hope I’ve made a difference and positive contribution to the forum.
Today was a good day because the time is right to stop contributing so regularly to the forum. Will you hear from me again? At the moment I honestly don’t know - but I am still and will always be Tot first, who happens to have Parkinson’s.
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