I HAVE PD: IT DOESN'T HAVE ME

It never ceases to amaze me how often people diagnosed with Parkinson�s
Disease give up & wait for disability & death to over take them.

Men & women who have survived war, women who have done natural drug free
labour �hear the four words �You have Parkinson�s Disease� & they crumble -
become frail, turned in on themselves. They just give up.

I often say they�ve already died but haven�t had the courtesy to get buried.
They are walking corpses giving off the smell of death � complaining, not
trying. They have P.D. & they are darn well going to make sure the rest of
the world knows it & what a terrible burden it is.

Often, but not always, these are seniors who have had opportunity to raise
children, follow career paths, travel establish retirement funds.

Having PD is not the news anyone wants to hear but get real � it could
certainly be many hundred of times worse. Everyone gets some THING to deal
with in life & as far as THINGS go, PD is not the worst.

You could have something really painful � like irritable bowel syndrome.

You could have something worse �inoperable brain tumor or Louis Gherig�s

You could have been born in this era in a poor country where if you actually
survived into adulthood, meds for PD are just not available.

You could have been born 20-30 years earlier - before the current drugs were
available even in the prosperous countries like the USA.

It does matter how a Parkinsonian carries him/herself. What if a neighbor,
your spouse, your child, your sibling becomes diagnosed with PD somewhere
along life�s road? Will they think back to the only Parkinsonian they know
(you) & see a life of complaining & medical appliances or ??????????????

For those with young onset PD � What example are you setting for your
children? Will they follow your example when they hit their own stumbling
blocks on life�s path? Will they give up or overcome?

I have Parkinson�s Disease � it does not have me. I have incorporated it into
my life path, it has not incorporated me.

I am 49 & truly grateful for each breath I draw, each extra moment I have with
my children, each sunset viewed, each warm embrace from my husband, each fresh
crop of strawberries I encounter������

I challenge any one of you to take the time to count the really good things in your life. Soon you�ll find you�re so busy encountering the good that you have no time to find the bad. Don�t give me complaints or excuses - I guarantee you whatever your whine,I
can do you one better!

-had PD 14 years (since age 35)
-misdiagnosed for 10 years � everything from hypochondria to MSA (You�ve got 3 months left to live. Expect a long & lingering death as meds are not
helpful in MSA)
-while misdiagnosed - -stiff, incontinent of urine, drooling � fed & dressed
by my young children
-bankruptcy
-mother trying to raise 2 high maintenance children � one with depression, one
with asperger�s syndrome
-unable to continue a nursing career
-unable to pursue any of my hobbies /talents developed over the first 3
decades of my life piano, handicrafts, public speaking
-major move (to US from Canada) leaving all friends & family to come to a
complete unknown
-having enough training (registered nurse) to know long term effects of PD on
the human body
And there is more but�����

I am thankful.

Having PD did not rob me of a career but forced me to stay home & develop a
unique & cherished relationship with each of my offspring. I will never
regret that part of it.

Having PD did not force me to give up the hobbies I loved but nudged me over
to find some new ones I would never have dreamed could give me so much
satisfaction - metal detecting, geneaology.

Having PD did take me off life�s busy highway & allow me to carve out my own
path on which I can stop to smell the flowers along the way.

I volunteer at schools & local agencies. I chaperone the teenage school
events � including overnight excursions, I run a small business on the net.
(NONE of my clients even know I have PD).I hit the pool five days a week &
exercise for fifteen minutes whether I feel like it or not.

Sure, I drop things, shake & fall but I laugh at myself & carry on. It
doesn�t take the rest of the world more than a brief encounter to be
comfortable with me & yes ask lots of questions about PD. (Those who know me
laughingly refer to it as Connie�s one on one PD public awareness campaign!)

I travel alone internationally � Canada & Jamaica. Some times it�s
a �disaster� & I end up on the �side lines� in a borrowed wheel chair in a
foreign country. But you know what � life on the sidelines is not bad, just
different. In Jamaica for example, I �missed� the big coffee tour but for a
few hours was surrounded by real locals who shared their
customs & hospitality with me. It was an experience none of the other travelers had &
money couldn�t buy. If I�d tried to arrange it, I couldn�t have done so.

I paint my toe nails neon blue & just last week did my hair up using my
daughter�s metallic green spiker gel.

We laugh a lot at my house � if we didn�t I don�t know how we�d make through.
(Sometimes I swear neighbours drop by just to see what bizarre chain of events has got
the Dohans laughing this time), Sure some days seem overwhelming but then we do it
hour by hour instead of day by day. PD is too big for me to handle alone. First thing
every morning, I pray �God cure me or carry me� & then truly leaving the matter up to
Him go about the day.

You can set the tone for the circle around you. You can whine & complain &
make those around you miserable too or create a bit of joy in your life & in
the lives of those around you!

Connie Dohan, Dublin Ohio