What makes a Parkie

Well, update on the golf game.  I know, you are all waiting breathlessly for this.
I went to the driving range. Wow!!
I guess working out all winter sure does make a difference.  I was crushing it!
Played the first round at Sussex Golf Club, shot a 91 (very good for me). I think I will stop now....NOT!

As you may have realized by now,  I refer to myself as a Parkie and not a PWP (Person With Parkinson's). This has been a debate among the Parkie community for a long time . What follows is only my opinion. My blog- my opinion.
 
As part of my job as a "salesman" I have been to a few Nursing Homes and Extended Care Facilities.
Walking through the halls is both heartbreaking and scary. If you talk to anyone with Parkinson's (and people without Parkinson's too) their number one fear is, this is where they will end up. They may not admit it, but deep down inside it is there somewhere. Each time I read or hear the term PWP, I think of the nursing home. PWP is very clinical, and I find it refers more to the condition then to the person with the condition. When I hear PWP I see someone who, while they may still be fighting, has accepted this is the way it will be. To me a PWP will find a reason not to do something.  And yes that reason may be valid.

Take Exercise for example.  It has been proven over and over again that vigorous exercise will in the short term ease some of the stiffness, and in the long term slow down the progression of Parkinson's. Now, everyone has to find the level of exercise that is right for them. But you definitely have to push yourself in order for the exercise to be effective. You may not be able to bench press 200 lbs, but you can do a bicep curl with 10 or 5 lb dumb bells. You may not be able to take a spin class (I highly recommend it for any one), but you can do 10 to 15 minutes a day on a stationary bike.

God, I sound like such an arrogant snob. I don't mean to.

A Parkie is someone who will take the challenge of  Day to Day living personally. Someone who will do everything possible to slow down the progression of Parkinson's. Not just with exercise for the body, but also exercises for the brain. At the conference we met  Don Lawson. He has lived with Parkinson's for about 20 years. He and his wife learn a new card game every 6 months to a year, and they play it every evening.  If they don't have friends over, they play it by themselves. He finds it keeps his mind sharp.

Parkies' don't as a rule look at the weather report, we simply get up, look outside and say "I need big boots today" or "Cool!  Shorts and tee".

Parkies' are aware of their bodies and Parkinson's, realizing when something is new, what does it effect and how to deal with it.

A Parkie does not let the symptoms of Parkinson's deter them from at least trying something. A Parkie looks for new adventures. Two People I look up to the most in the Parkie world are
Natasha McCarthy, her blog is "A Broken Body's Journey "  http://natashachronicles.blogspot.ca/
and the other is Allison Smith or "The Perky Parkie." They are the ones I think of when I need to give myself a kick in the pants.  They are the ones who keep me positive.  A Parkie looks for the positive in any situation and or person.

Don't get me wrong, I will be a PWP someday. But not tomorrow, or the day after that.

For today I am  THE  RANDY PARKIE


Remember IT'S ONLY INCONVENIENT

ps.     I start my Piano lessens on Wednesday.