I was in love with movement. Being able to walk, dance, fly, and travel to far away places with exotic sounding names. Using my body was physically and mentally pleasurable and a good physical workout made me feel high. Then PD took over and mobility became a problem. It seems like I now have to do everything slowly and carefully. Last year I went from walking unaided to occasionally using a cane, then needing the help of a four wheel walker, and now I find myself looking at a motorized wheelchair as a possible future. What happened? Parkinson’s happened, thats what happened.
For more than 70 years I took walking unaided for granted. Walking is the transference of weight from one foot to the other with at least one foot always on the ground. Walking and balance go hand in hand or more accurately brain and foot. PD affects your brain and balance and stability. It was a blow to my ego when I finally had to admit that a cane would help me get through the day more safely and easily. I was reaching out to hold on to supporting structures and having a little trouble getting up from chairs. Going up or down stairs was becoming really tricky so I got a cane which helped so much that I thought my stability problems were solved.
I don’t remember what brought me from a cane to a four wheel walker. Sometimes I shuffled, dragging my feet along the ground with short steps, barely lifting my foot. There were a couple of near falls and there may have been a fall. At one point I just knew that the walker would help and it did. I was happy as my range, speed, and mobility increased.
I’ve had PD for about nine years. The first four or five years were easy. My symptoms progressed slowly. I stumbled once in a while but had no real problems. I had the disease but my symptoms did not limit my activity or enjoyment of life. I actively participated in a PD dance class and even managed to play basketball occasionally. During the next four years the disease progressed slowly but progressively until I became concerned about my stability and finally had to admit that I really was a person with Parkinson’s.
The wheelchair is a plan ahead kind of thing preparing for what I hope I won’i need in the future. I saw the slope I was on. I was doing the PD shuffle: head hanging down, body corkscrewing into a question mark, small shuffling steps barely lifting my foot off the ground, and question mark posture.
Mobility is the ability to move freely and easily. It extends us into the world and in a sense frees us from our bodies limitations. Loss of mobility can shake a persons confidence and impact mental and emotional health leading to depression. In order to increase mobility confidence you need to move more. By being as physically and mentally active as possible you can help prevent and even sometimes reverse age and Parkinson’s related changes that affect your mobility. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Keep walking. Walking is a great exercise that is low impact, stretches and develops leg muscles, improves balance, builds endurance, helps breathing, and is good for your heart. Don’t use mobility aids until you need them. They will change your body so that you become dependent on them. The better you are physically, the better you will be mentally.
PD can be bad, very bad. The trick is to be happy and enjoy life. The future could be worse much worse. Attitude is everything.
