Hi Barb;
This sounds great. We plan to be in California in May.
>
> Eventually I just got bored to pieces with my own company and started
> arranging a monthly social dinner for members of my local PD support
> group and any List member who might be passing thru L.A. on one of our
> "Parkies-on-the-Town" dinner-nites..  That has been fun and lively as well
> as very gratifying.
>
What's fer dinner?????
>
> Recently I was invited to host a PD support group for a nearby hospital
> which has started a movement disorder clinic/neurosurgery under Dr.
> Robert Iacono.  Our first meeting's on March 21, and I'm soooooo
> excited and eager for that day to arrive!!  We're going to be starting
> a PD telephone hot line shortly after the support group gets rolling, and
> the hospital seems open to new ideas and suggestions.  YOUSA!!!!
> <giggle>
>
We can't wait to hear how this goes!
>
> I guess what I'm saying is that there IS life after Parkinson's... BUT...
> it's a life with many more changes and adjustments for us to make
> than we'd ever expected to have to make as we matured.  Not a one
> of us planned on coming down with Parkinson's.... it wasn't in our
> "birthright contract!"  Amazingly, most of us bend, flex, give-a-little-here-
> and-there, accommodate, and even manage to GROW while we battle the disease.
> Heck... we haven't even let PD stop us from enjoying a good
> laugh or havin' fun!
>
So far I can't imagine PD stopping me from doing anything I really
want to do...................certain restrictions?...maybe...
>
> I made my decisions to retire after the fact, and realize.... as you
> suggested in your post, that it would have been better for me....
> physically and emotionally... to have thought of retirement BEFORE
> I was forced to stop working.  Actually, it was more of a "realization,"
> than a "decision," now that I think about it...
>
Vacations say retirement would be great.  Economics say "Nyet!"
>
> During that post-employment 6 month fog of exhaustion it dawned on
> me that IF I continued to work full-time in a field that demanded a 7
> day work week, I'd end up with my condition degenerating much more
> rapidly then it would if I was able to stop pushing myself.
>
> Like I said, there is life after Parkinson's and there's ALSO "life after
> retirement!  But it's better to be prepared for the latter... ESPECIALLY if
> it's caused by the former.
>
> Barb Mallut
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
Thanks for your usual thoughtful insight.  I will love retirement
when it is available but certainly have no plans to sit on my duff.

As Dawn so aptly put it......
>
> Over time I've come to treasure every hour I can function, & consider very
> carefully any activity which might rob me of one of those hours.  Holding that
> up against the 6 months lost to exhaustion -- what a waste of precious days!
> When days are gone, they are gone.  Because of this, I would encourage anyone
> who is experiencing anything similar to resolve it before it robs you of any
> piece of life available to you!
>
> Redefining & refining is an ongoing process.  At first I had found myself
> asking:
> How can I continue to work, but in a role that fits my current health status,
>         interests, etc.  Then.......
> What kind of life can I create that enriches my sense of being in the world
> during  the hours when I can function?
>
> I still ask, & answer, that last question frequently.  The answers for me are
> probably different than they'd be for someone else, but I think the questions
> are usually the same:
> -- What was it IN my work & other parts of my life that made it rewarding?
> How     can I get these things in new ways?
> -- What things have I left undeveloped in myself or my life because I didn't
> have    time for them, or wasn't aware of them?  How can I develop those now?
> (This   has brought enjoyment to my days that I probably wouldn't have had the
>         opportunity to experience if I had gone on working -- one of the
> "gifts" of
> PD)
> -- How can I be of service to others now?
>
> My heartfelt wishes for good days ahead to those who are struggling with the
> many issues of chronic debilitating illness.  It takes some effort, & it takes
> some time, but you CAN make them more wonderful than you could imagine!
>
> MDawn   55/6
>
Yes, attitude is the absolute best meds for pd (or any other
ailment).

All of this "Coping with retirement" applies to successfully "Coping
with PD".

Best regards.............Murray  53/4 (finally correctly diagnosed in
'94 - symptoms since the '70s)
.
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