Today

I am tired today. I feel as if I have expelled all my energy and have just enough for me to pack up and leave the office. I look forward to seeing my husband and my son. The levadopa medication wears off much sooner and the next dose takes longer than what it used to be to kick in. My father asked me how long does the medication take effect and I said sometimes about an hour. His reply was sometimes never. It may be over 40 years or more Dad had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. He was in his late 30s and now he is 80. Such a resilient man. Young Onset Parkinson’s as we are categorised. My father , my only brother (older by 6 years) and myself. We three seem to be the only Lims in the family that have been afflicted with this mysterious, and sometimes crippling disease. Disease is an ugly word, I prefer using the word illness. I refer to my Parkinsons’ as an illness it has a gentler tone than disease….don’t you think.

What does one do when we learn that there is apparently 4 stages in the Parkinson’s lifecycle. It is not attractive as I learn that I will not be able to swallow, carry out the simplest task like buttoning my clothes, already having to walk a short distance from my office to the car park carrying a small hand bag and my empty lunch box is a difficult task when the required chemical has not somehow been release appropriately and attached itself to whatever it should to allow me that nimble , agile step. Out comes my metal foldable walking stick. That is not to help me walk, but to stop me from falling over. It is funny how most of us think a walking stick helps us walk, but in fact it is just so I won’t fall over. The stick does not make my stiff muscles become agile. Nonetheless it is quite an important third limb.