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August 29, 2008 Reflections on Camping for Parkinsonians Being A Series Of Observations And Experiences From Which Some Wisdom May Be Found First let me apologize for taking so long to get back into this blog and at the same time I'*m back and none the worse for wear. I would like to take this post to dwell on a few things to consider or avoid while camping with Parkinson's. The first item had the biggest impact and it was the fact we camp in a tent. Tents have come a long way since they were simple squarish heavy canvas and steel pipe structures capable of incapacitating your back after one lift from the car to the ground. Today tents are lightweight, water proof and held up by tensioned lightweight shock corded composite poles. This enables large spaces to be easily enclosed. This is all good so what is the problem? Tensioned in this manner leads by design or accident to curved walls, domed ceilings and round zipper doors. There are no level straight or vertical lines anywhere and you usually have to hunch over to get in and stay hunched over to move around. I have Parkinsons! Balance is not always my best thing. Now I have to hunch, squat, and lean to get in or out. Recommendation: Next year I would like to try renting a tent trailer. It has to be set up level. has full headroom a proper front door. In short, has all the horizontal and vertical points of reference. Second, air mattresses can be extremely nasty things, unless they are inflated to rock hard and stay there. But no, that is not what air mattresses do. Under normal circumstances, changing positions for the Parkinsonian, like rolling onto your other side is not just a simple task, its an adventure. Now imagine that same task on a less than rock hard air mattress. As you push down with your hands, the part you want to roll over suddenly finds that the air has shifted to the middle and you are still in full contact and can not complete the roll over. Recommendation: get one of those sleeping pads of blue, dense, solid core foam that the scouts and guides use OR get a self inflating air mattress typically about an inch thick when inflated. Neither of these bulge. Also, neither will launch your partner on different trajectories as you land from significant heights while executing rollovers. Finally, and this is the hardest thing to do, make sure that your campsite is level or at least has a smooth slope. Gullies from rainfall, abrupt level changes and jutting roots and rocks can all contribute to a fall. The reason its the hardest item is because you tyically have no control unless you are familiar with the park. By the way, signs were posted again this year that said "Active Bear in Campground". On the way out I asked if there had been many sightings of the bear. The reply was that two had been seen in our camping area and another two seen in the campground across the road. I still haven't seen a bear. http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3023530/32908612 I DID NOT WRITE THIS - DON'T HAVE AUTHOR'S NAME Ray Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson 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