A Working Parkie

Wow, this is surreal.
It's 6:14 am. The house is quite, except for the sound of money going up the chimney aka furnace.
The house is dark. I am sitting on a big comfy chair, the laptop is on the coffee table and I am wearing a headlamp so I can see the keys as I type. I feel like a reporter in a 60's movie. I look like a dork. Well at least I am not naked .... I just got caught (wife is laughing at me) oh well.

At this time I want to say how lucky I am. I have a loving, caring partner, lover, wife. Kids are good, Job is going great.  So at times when this sounds like woe is me,  I really do appreciate how fortunate I am and what great friends I have.

TO ALL OF YOU "THANKS" 


There is a saying in the Parkie world, how true it is I don't know.
It goes like this  " The younger you are when you are diagnosed, the faster the regression. The older you are, the slower the regression " Young onset Parkinson Disease (YOPD) is anyone under 50 , the average age of diagnosis is between 60 and 70.  I was 54, so I  fall in the middle. Again very lucky.
Of all the evils waiting to attack your body, when you think about it (for me ) PD is not that bad.
Ask me the same question on 10 years.

So at this point in the story things have worked themselves into a routine.
I am now working out, on a semi regular basis at the gym.  Going to Tia Chi.

Working with Parkinson's, I of course told my partner and office manager.
For me, again, I am lucky, at this point I can continue to work. Many Parkie's can not. Either the regression comes on too fast, or they are no longer able to do the physical work they were doing before.  Me, I am a salesman. In the beginning, as I made my calls, I was very aware of my tremor. I would apologize to the client, telling them  I had Parkinson's, which always led to a brief discussion. Now I just do the job, I am comfortable with my tremor ( when it wants to show itself). If someone asks, I tell them.

At the same time I am going to the neurologist every 6 months. He would do his witch doctor stuff,
give me a new prescription and off I would go. I soon found myself timing my appointments around the times my meds were at the strongest. For me that was in the mornings. As well I usually had a bottle of water with me so I could take my meds on time. You are told as a Parkie newbie " Take your meds on time" no matter what. So I have asked a few times for a glass of water, from a client.

There have been many times when we have had to do installations in the afternoon .
I seem to have a slow "off" period  between 2 and 3:30.  One of the issues I have when I am "off" is I tend to lock up mentally. Not uncommon among Parkies. My job during an install is to train the users  on how to use their new telephone system and to answer any questions. I also work as a buffer between Philip (TECH) and the client, so he can get his programing completed. So it happens I am training one user and another user  comes up and says blah, blah blah, not working, need to get it working, world will end blah blah blah. My response....... after 2 minutes of silence and a blank face..." I will check with Phil." It is frustrating not being able to rip those answers off at the drop of a dime. Three hours earlier no problem.

I no longer attempt to close sales, especially large sales that require negotiations, in the afternoon.
I have been known to give shit away. Not for free but you know what I mean.

Again I am so lucky.
There are days when you have taken your meds on time and they just don't work. Those days I close my door and put the phone on do not disturb. Or just go home. I am lucky I can do this, many Parkies cannot.

I intend on working as long as I can.. I think if I wasn't working I would turn into a dreaded Person With Parkinson's (PWP).

Parkie vs PWP  coming soon

Things have passed pretty well since my diagnosis, I now have a good routine.
Alarm 5:30
To the gym by 5:50 or 6
45 minute work out
15 minutes of Tia Chi 
Back home by 7
Showered, breakfast
Leaving with Nathan to go to work around 8
I try to do this Monday to Friday, but it works out usually 3 time a week.

I hate it, the gym. I would much rather stay in bed.
But it helps me move, helps to minimize the "off" times.

I still have the off times, but they seem to be further apart.
We have been very busy at work , never too busy.

We are just about caught up.
Next is Sports and Recreation,
Then :  the best year ,and the worst year
As well as some up to date news

Remember IT'S ONLY INCONVENIENT