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Planning For Two

As most of you know, and I am just beginning to realize, one the hardest
things to learn and accept about PD is learning to plan for the off
times.
It’s like you are on a trip with a partner who has a physical
disability. You must plan how to do things based upon the least able
member of your team. This is not as easy as it sounds. I find that when
I’m on I don’t always remember why something is set or done a certain
way.
The reason becomes very obvious when I’m off.
For example, I have set a lot of key stroke combinations on my computer,
both at work and at home. Some of them don’t make sense to my wife.
Using a mouse with my right hand is possible when I’m off but it is
difficult. I have discovered that it is easier to fire up a program
using the w95 key and then press the first letter of the program I want.
This means I had to arrange the folders and programs on my startup menu
in a way that produces a different beginning letter for each program and
folder.
Other things are similar I left the straps on the footrests of my
wheelchair because I cannot keep my feet on them when I’m off but the
straps are in the way when I’m on. It’s just another one of those things
that have to be adjusted, but it’s a blasted nuisance.