No one sits on the sidelines at David Zid's gym!

As I mentioned before, after meeting with David Zid, my husband is on board with getting himself fit also.  When we went to meet David the first day, my husband wore his khaki pants, a sweater, and his regular shoes.  His plan was to observe, take notes and pictures for me.  There was a table along a wall with a couple of chairs next to it, and he quickly settled into one of those chairs.  However not more than 3 minutes into my training, before my Hubby knew what hit, David had him out of the chair obediently (and even enthusiastically) doing exercises too.  You see - we quickly found out no one sits on the sidelines in David Zid's gym. His energy and love for exercise is contagious so you don't want to just sit and watch.  Besides, the chairs are used for exercising. 

It wasn't long before David noticed my husband had a drooping shoulder and since I had mentioned I had a rotor cuff problem awhile back, he outlined a shoulder regimen for the both of us to add to our daily routine. (Dang Hubby, thanks a lot!)

After working with David for a couple of hours Tuesday morning, he invited us to come to a Parkinson's exercise group session that evening.  We jumped at the opportunity to see how to pull all that he had been teaching us into a workout session.  We planned to just quietly observe the group. (Silly us!)  Thank goodness we wore our exercise clothes.

Following that hour long session, David had another session scheduled with an all men's group.  While a couple of the men had Parkinson's, most of them were just regular healthy males who had been working out for awhile and were in very good shape.  David invited us to stay and "observe"  if we wanted to.  I decided it would be interesting to observe the difference in the routines so we stayed around to watch. (ha ha - yes, we are that stupid!!!)  You guessed it - NO ONE just stands around and watches in David's gym!  Quickly  we were drawn into this group's workout and I officially became one of the "boys" for the evening.  And if I do say so myself, other than not being able to pull myself across the floor with my arms while dragging my legs behind on floor disks, and also lifting weights that were a few pounds lighter  (cough cough), I did a pretty darn good job of keeping up with them - at least on the cardio parts.   And ...I was even able to walk out of the gym on my own!  (hold the applause please)  Hubby on the other hand, had a rude awakening of just how out of shape he is.  So now he is determined to get back in shape and is working out with me.  

(high five David!)

My husband insists to this day that our trip to meet with David Zid for my Parkinson's needs was just a subterfuge and my real reason was to suck him into getting physically fit!  Not true - but I have to admit I LOVED the fact that he had to do everything I did!!  After all, the couple who lifts weights together, feels aches together... or something like that...  

Good job David! (handing money under the table)  ;)

David Zid was awesome!

I am back from my trip to Ohio where I met with David Zid. (http://delaythedisease.com/)  It was a fantastic experience!!!  We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my sister, niece, and her family.  The food was delicious and the company even better.  All in all it was a great trip.

Training and learning from David exceeded my expectations and hopes in every way.  Every minute I spent with him confirmed to me that God had guided me there and that I was in the right place, doing the right thing.  He was inspiring, knowledgeable, encouraging, energetic, funny and very upbeat.  His faith and confidence in what exercise can do to help fight Parkinson's disease was contagious.  I believe with all my heart that with a good exercise program, not only can I slow the progress of this disease down but I can even reverse some of the symptoms that I already have.  David has seen it happen with others, and I fully intend for it to happen with me too.  I have made a goal that in a year from now my UPDRS score (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating scale) will be lower than it was when I was first diagnosed.  In my 3 day crash course, David taught me what I need to do to build an exercise program that will help fight this disease.   My husband is just as excited about this and is even on board with trying to get fit himself. (more on that humorous story later).   

Now I have to put all that I was taught into practice!   I am psyched, ready to jump in and do this, yet so very nervous and scared.  In many ways I feel like I did years ago when we brought our first newborn home from the hospital for the first time.  After we gently laid him in his bassinet, I stood there looking at him feeling so excited and happy, yet so extremely scared and unsure of myself.  I remember thinking "What in the world am I going to do now????  I am totally responsible for this little guy!".   Then I broke into tears and sobbed while my husband stood there looking totally helpless, uncomfortable, and frightened himself.

When we left David's gym on Wednesday, I felt like he was the nurse handing me my newborn baby and wishing me luck!  Even though he has taught me what I need to know and given me the tools to do what I need to do, I still wonder...(panic)...Can I really do this??? 

YES!
I CAN do this!
I WILL do this!
Watch me!!!  Better yet - join me!!!
One year from now,  Thanksgiving 2012,  my UPDRS scores WILL be lower than they are now!
(UM... I guess I should find out what they are now, shouldn't I?)

Delay the Disease - Parkinson's Exercise Miracles

Three more days and I get to meet David Zid! How awesome is that?

You can order his exercise book and DVD here: http://delaythedisease.com/?page_id=2 
No, I don't make a commission!  lol  However, I do believe in the benefits of his program!!!

If you don't want to use David's program, find one you like.  Any exercise program would be good for you - those of you with PD and those of you without!  Just make exercise a daily part of your life!!!!  You will feel so much better when you do!

The effects of family stress, painful dentist appointment, and gloomy weather

1. Three weeks of family stress and drama!
(which I thought I handled very will btw)
 2. An extremely painful dentist appointment!
(my shaking really bothered the dentist and his assistant so
I finally informed them I had Parkinson's.  The assistant said "I thought you
just didn't like us". Well if truth be known, I did NOT like them!!!!),
3. And gloomy rainy weather!

All three have combined to cause this today....
(Apparently you have to click on it twice to view it at You Tube!)

Humiliation

Before going out for my daily walk, I checked the weather station and found it was a bit chilly this morning.  So I bundled myself up to be nice and toasty.  I hate cold and I especially hate how the cold makes me shake twice as bad as normal.  So on went my long stretch pants, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt, a fake down vest, and of course my gloves and then out the door I cheerfully skipped. (yeah right)

As soon as the first blast of cold wind hit, so did the shaking, but I ignored it and quickly upped to a brisk walking pace to get warmer.  At my usual spot, I began running.  (I call it running, but I have been informed by an acquaintance (jerk) who really runs that it's actually a very slow jog... hhhmmfff...) OK, so I began my slow jog!  :P

My body was doing more than it's fair share of whining as I jogged, but I told it to shut up and keep running cause I wasn't stopping - so there!  As my feet heavily padded along the pavement,  I heard someone coming up behind me and it was quickly quite evident their pace was way faster than mine.  Sure enough a  young girl sprinted pass me leaving me in the dust as I moved to the side so she could pass!

"PPFFTT...so what!!!... she's young... she should be faster. Lets see how fast she runs when she is my age!!!!"

Then...as I watched her fade away out of site, the real kicker hit...
Not only was she running faster....
She was running faster AND she was wearing shorts and a thin long sleeved T-shirt...
Shorts - ladies and gentlemen!!!!  And she didn't seem the least bit bothered by the cold.
While at the same time, I am dragging along, bunndled in 3 layers, still shaking like a leaf because it's freezing!

Alright!  I get it already!!!  I am old!!!!
But you know what?
Next week when she has pneumonia, I am going to be out running... SLOW jogging...whatever! 

I am so irked!

I am so irked...
My day started out so good too...

I went on my usual walk/run today and during the run part my brain and body were cooperating very nicely.  The weather was so fabulous that I actually walked an extra mile on my georgeous path.  It was a little warmer than I expected so before I started running, I ended up taking off my sweatshirt and left it on some ball park bleachers that I pass.  I do this quite often because its a very secluded area and then I grab the sweatshirt on my way back.  Never been a problem before!

Not today!

My sweatshirt was gone!  Not just A sweatshirt though... my FAVORITE sweatshirt that is so comfortable and also has sentimental value.  We had given it to my father-in-law years ago, then retrieved it after he died.  It was gone!  Someone took my favorite sweatshirt during the 1/2 hour I was gone.  Someone - like one of the 4 or less people that would by chance be on the path during the late morning.  Come on! 

I remembered passing two older oriental ladies (way older than me) and one of them was carrying what I thought was a white jacket.  Now I wonder, did she pick up my sweatshirt thinking someone had just left it there from one of the weekend games?  I walked back trying to find the ladies but they were nowhere to be found.  (Please - No wise cracks from the peanut gallery about not being able to catch up with old ladies!!!).

So I am irked.  Irked at myself for leaving the sweatshirt.  Irked that someone picked it up.  Mostly irked that my favorite sweatshirt is gone.  I hope whoever has it enjoys it as much as I did.  UUUUUGGGGG!!!!

Footprints (New Version)