Two feet vs Four feet

    VS

For the past couple of weeks, Hubby has had to go to work early and has not been able to walk with me. I have discovered some advantages and disadvantages to walking alone.

ADVANTAGES:
1. The walk is very serene, and quiet.
2. I  walk longer.
3. When I sing out loud there is no-one to complain.
4. If I trip or fall I don't have to be embarrassed cause there is no-one to
    see my klutziness.
5. It gives me lots of time to think and ponder my life.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. The walk is too serene,  and way way too quiet.
2. The walk only SEEMS longer.
3. When I sing out loud I look like a fool when someone passes me.
4. If I trip or fall there is no-one to help me back up.
5. I think and ponder about my life!

It all depends on how you look at it - doesn't it?  Some days walking alone is an advantage and then other days it might be a disadvantage.  This post could also be titled "Walking alone vs lonely walking":   The walk is the same - the only thing different is the perspective.

While I sometimes enjoy walking alone, I never enjoy lonely walking.   So, two feet walking is OK occasionally, but really, I think I prefer four feet!  Thank goodness Hubby's early morning schedule is done!

 Yup - that's much better!     

Meet my new best friends - David Zid & Jackie Russell

I bought both the book and the DVD "Delay the Disease". I now spend a lot of time with my new friends! They are wonderful!!!

The book is very easy to follow with both a description and a picture to show how to do the exercises, which were simple enough that even I could follow them.(If you knew me you would understand that really says a lot lol) They have the exercises listed and laid out to follow in a weekly schedule. The program can be modified and the exercises are adaptable for 3 levels, which I think would meet almost anyone's needs. David Zid and Jackie Russell are clearly two very compassionate and dedicated people working to help Parkinson's patients. It's easy to tell they are passionate about their work and their belief that exercise is a huge benefit in controlling the disease.

And here is their site - http://delaythedisease.com/

David and Jackie - Thank You!!! You have given me hope! I am going to meet you in person some day to thank you properly! :)

My smooth path has been altered a bit!

The path we walk in the morning 
was flooded several weeks ago 
and there was some damage.  
A few areas of the path 
were altered a bit, 

but all in all it's still a pretty smooth, 
enjoyable path to exercise on!

The smooth asphalt shifted in this spot - just a bit!

Some chunks of it shifted a lot
leaving a rocky area in it's place!

(Notice the big chunk of asphalt off to the side?) 

Pictures can speak a thousand words!

These pictures show the effects of powerful flood waters.

Symbolically, they also do a pretty good job of depicting 

the effects of the early stage of Parkinson's Disease 

on my life right now!  

Having Parkinson's Disease has caused

a little shifting and some rocky patches,
but still my path is quite 

smooth and enjoyable for the most part!

I know the probability of more flooding is high! 
Parkinson's is a progressive disease.

There will be further damage 

which will make my path 
more rocky than smooth at times, 

and not quite as enjoyable -

but for now I choose not to think about that!

I choose to just continue to enjoy the path the way it is today!

Because it's my path - the one I travel on every day!
And most days,

it's a very enjoyable path!

She's gone!

Our cat left this world peacefully tonight, curled up in her bed. She passed the same way she lived her life for most of the last 15 years, quietly and unobtrusively. While she was never a lap cat, she was a good cat and was usually very little trouble.  Her motto was "Live and let live - as long as you don't bother me, we will all get along fine!"  Hhhmm, that sounds vaguely familiar...

We are relieved she is free from her ailing body now! She will be missed, even by me.

This is not her, but it is close to what she looked like!  Farewell sweet cat!

Parkinson's update - 6 months

It's been 6 whole months since a doctor first dropped the Parkinson's word into my unsuspecting and very unwelcoming lap. And it's been 5 months since the diagnosis was made official. Where am I now? Well, really not anywhere different and yet, I am in a majorly different place. Sound confusing? Yeah, to me too.

My physical symptoms continue, only they seem more noticeable, or at least I notice them more: tremors in my left hand and leg (my hand shakes most of the time now), stiffness (rigidity) on the left side, my left hand fingers sometimes refuse to move the way I want them to, some achyiness mostly in my left wrist and arm, and minor balance issues (but I have been a klutz most of my life, so not sure this is any different). Lately there are minor signs that the tremors are starting to migrate to the right side also. This latest development is sucky (to say the least).

My emotions remain the same, I have my ups and downs but I am managing to stay positive the majority of the time. I try real hard to stay focused on the here and now and not project down the road. Sometimes my brain forces me to look down the road, but I quickly slap it silly till it comes back to the present. Or if that doesn't work, I sit in my shower until I cry it all out or the water turns cold (whichever is first). Hey, whatever works! Right? lol

The biggest difference for me right now is how I view my life. I am more cognitive of everything I can do, which I use to take for granted. Smiling, picking up and holding my grandson, wearing high heels, buttoning a shirt, typing, and driving, to name a few. What a blessing these all are, well - except the high heels maybe, but hubby thinks they are sexy looking, and that is a blessing (wink wink)! I am pretty sure the heels will be the first to go though. (probably a good thing)(sigh) Anyways, while this disease scares the daylight out of me when I go down the "what can happen" road, if I manage to stay in the here and now it makes me very grateful for so many things.

So where am I today compared to 6 months ago? I am still doing everything I was then. My life routine has not changed on the surface much, except I shake more, I walk slower going down stairs (only when in heels), I exercise longer and more regularly so actually I am more physically fit than I was before (pat on the back). I think about having Parkinson's all the time, and most of the time I am way more grateful of the here and now because of it. I still go to work, we travel, go to movies and eat out (a lot). Our kids still drive us nuts, we joke and laugh, and we fight and make up. I am still annoying and obnoxious at times, and hubby still loves me and puts up with me.

So all in all, I am still me and life is still good (and still sometimes yucky), only now my life includes Parkinson's Disease. I am not particularly happy about it - but it is what it is... so I live with it. (Not like I was given a choice or anything!) And most days I live very well with it. Other days? Like I said, I am still me.

Hole in the World - September 11th

YouTube - Uploaded by flvtecivic95 on May 22, 2007

USNA Men's Glee Club specialty group, The Anchormen, during the Commissioning Week Concert: 21 May 2007.

THE LYRICS - "There's a hole in the world tonight"
The EAGLES (one of my favorite groups)

There's a hole in the world tonight
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow
There's a hole in the world tonight
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

They say that anger is just love dissappointed.
They say that love is just a state of mind.
But all this fighting over who will be annointed
Oh how can people be so blind?

There's a hole in the world tonight
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow
There's a hole in the world tonight
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

Oh they tell me there's a place over yonder,
Cool water running through the burning sand.
Until we learn to love one another
We will never reach the promised land.

There's a hole in the world tonight
There's a cloud of fear and sorrow
There's a hole in the world tonight
Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

(There's a hole in the world tonight)
They say that anger is just love dissappointed.
(There's a cloud of fear and sorrow)
They say that love is just a state of mind.
(There's a hole in the world tonight)
But all this fighting over who will be annointed
(Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow)
Oh how can people be so blind

Jingle Bells

My favorite son-in-law (I only have one), says he is going to buy me jingle bell jewelry.

I promptly smacked him! It felt good too!

The cat again - now what do we do?

No-one would take my cat for free, so I have a new offer for you all. I will pay you to take my cat! Help me out - I will make you an offer you can't refuse - I promise. Yes, it's that bad!!!!!!

We took kitty to the vet and apparently she has a "mass" in her intestines. For a mere $300 they can do an ultrasound and try to see what it is. However at her age, the vet told us, it doesn't really matter what it is, because they won't do anything about it anyways. Needless to say we kept our $300.

Too help make the poor little kitty feel better, the vet told us to start gradually switching her to soft food. She has been on dry food her entire life. She also gave us a laxative to give to her. Now, I am no dummy, so it seems to me if we already have a problem with her not eliminating her hard turds into the cat litter - really - is making them runny a good ideal?

The vet said she was concerned about how skinny kitty is - and she needs to eat more - and the soft foods will help - and we have to consider the quality of her life, - and blah blah blah. Being the selfless person I am, I was thinking the entire time "what about the quality of my life?"

To make a long story short, out of guilt we followed the advice of the veterinarian (the $100 advice - thank you very much) and gradually switched her to the soft food, (although we skipped the laxative - I do have my limits). Sure enough as expected, my quality of life has gone way down! It is my worst nightmare come true - I will spare you the description!!!!

So it seems to me we have three choices here - as the status quo is not working for me - at all.

1. Buy a very large crate which will become her home. (I would still have to deal with the mess, but at least it would not be on my carpet.)
2. Introduce her to the outside world which would be her new home - (she has never been outside since we got her over 15 years ago and probably would not last long - although - she still has her claws.)
3. Put her down. (At the moment this still feels a lot like murder to me - but a few more days of this and...after all, the vet said we do have to consider the quality of her life - which is about to decline very rapidly if this keeps up!!!)

Do you think they make Depends for cats? How about nursing homes for cats?

What to do, what to do????