My journey with Parkinson's

For me, it's all about being honest. About not feeling I have to be positive and cheerful all the time. Who could be with this condition? Owning the days when it is all a bit much and getting on with it, not with false positivity, but with honesty.

It's time for the bucket list. Time to plan and do the things that we have always wanted to do. To not put it off to tomorrow for tomorrow may never come.

Some thoughts on the importance of a healthy diet, not just for weight loss, but for general health and wellbeing.

What do you choose for your life? If we are fated to take this path, how can we take some positives from it to lead a better life? What influences both positive and not have shaped who we are today. It may be fate, but what can we take control of?

A few handy hints to make travelling easier with a disability.

Being significantly overweight at the moment I am feeling self-conscious. Is my evil little brain telling me to enjoy being overweight because I will lose weight with Parkinson's in the future? Logical me might scoff at that, but perhaps it is a factor?

When you have a number of health issues, they tend to cause some confusion when a new symptom arises. Is it in relation to conditions already known or perhaps something new is starting up. It can be a very confusing situation.

This is an interesting interview with Kirstie, a well-respected Speech Language Therapist in Christchurch. I have had the benefit of her expertise both as a colleague and as a person with Parkinson's. Speechies - as we called them on the ward - can make an incredible difference in the lives of people they work with. The interview gives a lot of useful information about how a person with Parkinson'...

For once in my household it was my husband, not me that needed to be checked out at 'After Hours'. All is well, after a long wait, so to fill in the five hours we were there, I was inspired to write a poem. I hope you like it.

When you have a bunch of different health issues - ie. Comorbidities - it is sometimes difficult to know the cause of a new ache or pain and/or who to talk to about it! The risk of course is that we just shrug our shoulders and think it must be related to Parkinson's when it may be something else entirely and treatable!

Striving for perfection is not something I consciously do, however much my previous boss used to call me a perfectionist! Instead, I strive to be the best that I can be and that is not likely to be perfect. Sometimes there is beauty in imperfection.

This is a poem that reminds us that the elderly person sitting in a chair before has a life and a history. I wrote this quite a few years ago now, but I was reminded of it when thinking about telling our stories.

I have edited this down from the last download as the first draft was a bit long. The edit is a bit clumsy in places, but hopefully the revised content will be better and not so rambling... We all have a story to tell, but perhaps we think that no-one would be interested in our very normal lives. But, how many of us now wish we had asked our parents more about their earlier lives? Then, all of a s...

A beloved cat turns up after three years. What next?

When asked if we were going out for dinner for a special occasion, we responded that we just wanted to go out for dinner together, no 'special' occasion. When I stopped and thought about it though, I realised that just being together makes an occasion special. This podcast is about what makes occasions special and memorable for me.

Just a light hearted look at realising that I am an old woman. Grey hair, arthritis and a walking stick all point to that being the case! I hope you enjoy my latest poem. Poking fun at myself as I often do.

Feeling nostalgic and listening to songs I haven't listened to in years. Also, some songs and artists that have stayed with me always. My most loved is "I am Woman" by Helen Reddy. I have put the words on my blog.

Just a wee poem I wrote today about being brave.

Just some thoughts on being brave. It's something we all try to be, I'm sure. Not always easy with the hand we've been dealt.

Every age and stage, every era has it's own language and popular culture. This can make communication challenging at times. But an awareness that this is the case and a willingness to learn from each other can mitigate the effects of the language communication barrier.

Sometimes there's a fine line between supporting someone and making decisions for them. Even out of kindness, to protect someone you love, this can be difficult when on the receiving end. I know we will lose the capacity to decide to do things at some point, but we all need to discuss and be part of the decision-making process. Even the most loving partner doesn't always get it right and neither d...

Some advice from my experience of many operations that I have needed to recover from. It might help you not to make the same mistakes I have in the past!

Reading various posts on FB and other media, there is always quite a lot of discussion about medication and when or if to start medications for Parkinson's. I chose to have medications from the day of diagnosis and it has definitely been of benefit.

A rather eclectic mix but loosely tied together with the thread of memory. There is a difference of course between memory when it is applied to day-to-day tasks and memories of time spent with those we love. Those special moments are the ones that we all want to hang onto.

This is a quote from Greta Bond who speaks from the heart about supporting people as they age.