Tossed A Curved Ball

Dear Readers,

Sometimes life throws you a curved ball, and it's up to you to catch it and do the best you can with the ball tossed at you. You can let it fall to the ground, or you can catch it midair and figure out what the next step is. I'm slowly trying to figure out what to do with the curved ball tossed at me and my husband.   But, this is my blog, so things will be written from my perspective.   I will talk about Don sometimes, and might even invite him to be a guest blogger a time or two.

Both my husband (Don) and I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.   Don was diagnosed in April 2010, and I was diagnosed in February 2011.   Don does not have a family history, while I do.  Neither diagnosis came as a total surprise as both of us have had apparent symptoms for at least 3 years.   In both cases, we’ve both had shaky hands, which makes doing fine-motor skills difficult – little things like threading a needle on a sewing machine or for fine needle work, and in Don’s case (he’s a hobby artist) painting  on a canvas in fine detail.  Don started shuffling in his walking gait, scaring our local friends and myself, - so afraid he would trip himself.   I developed very weakened muscles and have been afraid my legs would not support me and walk in a stopped position instead of standing up tall.

There is no cure for Parkinson's Disease, and no prediction of how rapidly the disease will progress. The best you can hope for is to manage the symptoms with a combination of drugs. But, more on those drugs next time.

When you are going through something this, it's very important to be surrounded by supportive family and good friends. Even Mario's Twitter pals have been very supportive of both of us (his ooman). Not a day goes by on Twitter without one of his pals inquiring about his M and D and how they are doing. I am so blessed to have this support and the support of local friends.

I do not have a direction for this blog other than to document my journey, share my thoughts, feelings and limited knowledge. I also hope to learn from you, and welcome helpful suggestions and feedback as living with this disease is much the same as living with a multitude of other debilitating diseases.

Until next time,

Mary