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Humour helps in battling Parkinson s Shaking with laughter is the only real remedy when your shaking is uncontrollable, says Parkinson's Disease sufferer Dawn Burton. "Sometimes if the trembling gets real bad I just say out loud that I can't get rid of Mr Parky today, he wants to rock and roll. What good is it if I sit in a corner and cry?" Mrs Burton, 75, a resident at the Roseneath Care Services rest home in Carterton, was speaking during Parkinson's Awareness Week that started on Thursday and runs until November 7. She has lived with the steadily worsening nervous system disease since her diagnosis 25 years ago, she said, that came about when her daughters-in-law noticed her hand was trembling. Several practitioners failed to pinpoint the disease and when the correct diagnosis was finally made, she said, she became a first-time sufferer for her then GP. "I had been fainting as well and had to visit specialists and neurologists and has tested for heart, thyroid, diabetes, head scans and even lumbar punctures. Still nothing turned up. "I knew something was wrong, I just didn't know what, and for quite a long time neither did the doctors," she said. Since diagnosis she has endured a medication regime that has ballooned from a single pill a day to more than 70, she said, which she self-administers to target the disease and other health problems stemming from the disease. The main thrust of Parkinson's Awareness Week this year is the correct timing of medication for sufferers, who need to receive their medication on time every time; particularly those in rest homes and hospitals. Mrs Burton has lived in Carterton with husband Alex for more than 50 years where they raised a family of three sons, she said. She has always lived a very active life, she said, that included being the second person employed to pick Parkvale mushrooms; a member of mothers' club, parent-teacher association and the Carterton fire brigade ladies; president of the Carterton Floral Art Club, Lioness Club member and for a term the Carterton Central Lions Club president. According to a diary of her experience, titled Thank God For Giving Me Parkinson's, Mrs Burton has kept active since going into Roseneath in 2004 and while forsaking flowers and knitting has instead taken up the creation of scrapbooks brimming with bookmarks and birthday cards. In January she received a new wheelchair that is joystick-operated and two weeks ago a speakerphone. Both machines have returned some independence and activity for her, she said, and the telephone stands as an essential link to her family and friends. "But most importantly, it's a vital thing to have a good sense of humour and not only for yourself. If you can help the caregivers find the funny side and laugh with you, that makes it vital for them as well because they have a lot of sad work to do," she said. "I might have broken down in tears once or twice but it's been my daughters-in-law who have cried a whole lot more than I have," she said. "My advice to people who have this problem is to keep doing things that you like. Do not sit and worry or try to hide the fact. Be open and tell people what you have and then they accept you as you are there are far worse things you could have, there's no pain and it's not terminal. "A Baptist minister said in here a wee while back that if you keep looking down you'll only see mud but look up and you'll see the sun. Now that's something for people to think about." More humour: "I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." - George W. Bush 442 more days to go and that ain't funny! Ray Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn