Janet, I just had to say to you that this was one of your best,down to earth
writings. I felt it came from your HEART and was very uplifting. You should
do it more often. I was uplifted!!!! Shirley
-----Original Message-----
From: janet marie paterson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, February 13, 2000 4:59 PM
Subject: Re: reply to bill harrington


>hi all
>
>At 05:15 PM 2000/02/13 -0500, bill wrote:
>>I Just read the latest digest and had some brief comments.
>>W/O referring to who said what I submit PARKINSONS IS FATAl,
>>you may die of complications of the disease but that is
>>merely semantics. ...
>
>if i take that a step further i get to:
>life is fatal!
>i could get run over by a truck tomorrow
>i refuse to put all my worries and 'catastrophisings' into one basket!
>
>>As well, it does affect your mental process, the most common
>>problem being severe depression. Also short term memory loss,
>>confusion, in my case compulsive obsessive behavior...Classifying
>>PD as a purely physical degeneration would be a grave mistake. ...
>
>absolutely!
>i have always advocated eliminating the 'stigma' surrounding 'mental
problems'
>if i need help with walking there is no stigma
>if i need help with depression there should be no stigma there either
>it's all just brain chemicals needing some tweaking
>
>>Did I mention dementia? To be fair, many of the mental problems
>>come with prolonged use of the medications. Whether God is male
>>or female, he or she saved me from 4 suicide attempts so I finally
>>decided to stick it out till HE or SHE comes to get me...
>
>good one, bill!
>i'm glad to hear it!
>s/he probably has some plans for you yet!
>
>>Getting back to fatality and pd, I think you get a taste of
>>death the day you're diagnosed...
>
>i think i know what you mean
>i felt like i had been given 'a death sentence'
>but in fact as i look back on it now, i find i was mistaken
>that sensation was due to the shock and the fear and the ignorance...
>all gone now, i am grateful to be able to say
>
>>Strangly enough I've often commented that the main problem
>>with PD is it doesnt kill you fast enough. It comes as no shock
>>to people when you finally pass on.  THey don't see the years
>>you've lost of "Normal" life...
>
>i dunno about that word 'normal'
>it's sort of like 'average' and other 'statistics'
>i don't think they exist as real live breathing people
>
>i know that it can be hard to get over a perceived loss
>but looking backwards is a heck of a good way to get run over by a truck!
>
>loss is only one aspect of the impact pd has had on me
>it has also made me sit up and take notice and do some prioritising
>which has resulted in my discovery of and passion for writing
>which was all part and parcel of my discovery of and passion for this
medium
>
>i still get shivers when i think of all of us on this planet
>becoming 'used to' the idea of instant communication on a one-to-one basis
>
>i have no idea what's going to happen next
>but i can't wait to find out!
>
>with love
>
>janet
>
>janet paterson
>52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset
>a new voice: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/
>613 256 8340 PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario Canada K0A 1A0