 |
 |
Gail Vass <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >Hey folks...I'm concerned about a fellow list member. > >This list member wishes to remain anonymous but gave me permission >to post his letter to me to the list. So here it is. > >Greetings, > > I'm a retired aerospace executive, 64 yrs, diagnosed 2 years ago. >My retirement plan/(dream) has been destroyed by this terrible disease. > > My plan was to live an extraordinarly active life--competitive ... SNIP ... > > In summary, from a man with everything to live for, I find myself >asking myself how much longer can I go on, and often my nightly prayer >is that I don't wake up." Friend, It saddens me to see people who, like you, have lost their dreams, and have nothing to replace them with. I've been quite lucky all my life: every time I lost a dream, somehow another one came along to take its place. Witl considerable regret, I've passed up quite a few dreams, and, like you, I have "worked my socks off" to benefit my company, my wife, my family, and all the community in which I have been living and operating. Life isn't fair, but then nobody ever said it would be. What I have found since getting PD, and my dreams of travelling the world, and learning a whole raft of new languages have had to be discarded, is that I have a great deal to offer other PWP. I have MADE myself be laid back and accept this new role, cos the other one wasn't about to work. So, once again I find myself working hard for others instead of myself, and "IT'S NOT FAIR!" BUT... I'm happier than I ever was whe striving to grab everything for myself. I'm positive thinking even on my worst days. I don't have to take crap from ANYONE! I'm working for others, but at my pace, not theirs. "Carpe diem" is my watchword, and, boy, if I do see an opportunity to seize the day, I really grab it and shake it by the neck! I was discussing "depression" and "coping" with our PD Specialist Nurse the other day, and she says the most difficult people to help are those who don't plan, those who have given up, those who think not on what COULD be, but on what MIGHT HAVE been. Man - and this includes woman - is the most adaptable animal. So, my advice, friend, is ADAPT or die! Like I said earlier "no one ever said it's going to be easy, but it sure as hell can be rewarding. Do I seem to lack sympathy? That's because sympathy feeds feelings of being sorry for yourself, and that's more crippling than Parkinson's. EMPATHY, now, sure, I've got loads of that! Good luck. Never let go. Jeremy -- Jeremy Browne - [log in to unmask] Hampshire, UK