My Parkinson Story is a weekly column featuring member of our community, sharing their stories with PD. We are interested in sharing a wide array of experiences, including yours! PD looks different in everyone, and affects everyone differently, including friends and family of those with PD. If you’d like to share your story on our blog, please email us.
This is the second installment, in a two-part series on Elizabeth’s Parkinson Story. Click here to read part 1.
In 1997 I noticed that, despite being right handed, I was using my left hand only to shampoo my hair and drink beverages. Hmmm, that’s odd. At the end of the year I made a New Year’s resolution to do something about it, and after my primary care doctor ruled out a brain tumor with an MRI, I was diagnosed by a neurologist with Parkinson’s in March of 1998. Since both of my maternal grandparents had PD, I thought I knew what I was dealing with.
But my story turned out to be a different one – and a longer one. Since I was only 39 when diagnosed, I had more years ahead of me than either of my grandparents. And my life has rolled on. I have worked, mothered, and exercised, I met someone, I exercised some more, and I got married, I have worked some more, we have hiked, I have exercised and exercised some more. Now here I am almost 25 years later, and I can still walk and drive . . . and exercise! As you may gather, exercise has been a companion the whole time. And I truly believe that my PD is still as manageable as it is due to my determined efforts at exercise, including finding the most PD-specific exercises that target my symptoms directly.
Yes, I do sometimes get tired of exercising. I even give up occasionally. I have been laid low by cancer, unable to exercise due to exercise injuries and just plain lazy – but not a lot. I just make exercising part of my everyday routine, and I give thanks that I have had this much time – time to meet and love my grandchildren, time to appreciate my husband, time to get to know my children as adults, time to cherish life. And time to exercise.