 |
 |
Parkinson's Disease Is a Curse and a Blessing by Kate Kelsall In junior high, the code I used to signify my menstrual period was "my friend is visiting." I was fortunate enough to escape "the curse," the terminology of my mother's generation. After 40 years, my period became like an old friend I didn't really like, but who I got accustomed to having around. Then, my friend stopped visiting. I host another visitor. Parkinson's Disease (PD) is an uninvited guest, who moved in and refused to leave. She hangs around, and has taken up permanent residence in my body. PD has poor manners, interrupts and makes no apologies. I try to befriend PD. While PD is a curse and no friend of mine, people struggling with PD have become blessings and cherished friends. Dawn* discovered my blog, "Shake Rattle and Roll: An Insider's View of Parkinson's Disease" on the Internet just a week ago. Dawn was diagnosed with PD five months ago at the age of 30. Single with no children, she works at a high-powered position in a small town in the south. Dawn is just like me struggling down the PD path, except that I am 27 years older, have had PD for 10+ years, was diagnosed at the age of 46, am married, have never lived in a small town in the south, and after too many high-powered jobs in my day, I am currently on long-term permanent disability because of PD. It turns out that having no children and living with PD are our only common connections. We debate the merits of disclosure vs. concealment. I give her big-sisterly advice and express my regrets about trying to cover up PD for so long. I refer Dawn to a favorite article, "In Defense of Denial" by Michael Kinsley in "Time Magazine" on December 17, 2001. I believe that denial can be helpful as long as it doesn't interfere with obtaining medical help (e.g., going to doctors appointments, taking meds, etc.). I share with Dawn that when I was diagnosed, I read everything that I could put my shaky hands on about PD (the Internet wasn't popular then). When I was overwhelmed with the bad news, I stopped reading and decided to get on with my life. I am grateful that Dawn and I found each other on our PD paths. Finding friends on their parallel PD journeys, has turned PD from being a curse to a blessing in my life. *Note: Name has been changed to protect identity. Technorati Tags: Parkinson's Disease Posted by Kate Kelsall on January 06, 2007 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn