Change Brings Change
Nothing stays the same. Some of you will remember and even miss the days of what was. Remember screen test patterns * the fall of the innovative company, General Magic * the magic of hit toy, Teddy Ruxpin * no more Friday night rush to Blockbuster Video * the love of the video game arcade * the hilarity of Celebrity Death Match * the intrigue of the cartoon, Jonny Quest * the wonder and excitement of going into a magic store * or having ice cream in NYC at the long gone ritzy and elegant NYC ice cream parlor, Rumplemayer’s, * the lessons of Fractured Fairy Tales, and the teachings of School House Rock * the breakthrough of cassette tapes and the frustration of finding your song on an 8 track * the challenge of finding stored computer files on cassettes and floppy discs * the disappointment of Al Capone’s vault and new Coke * the loss of childhood candy with real sugar and real ingredients without fillers and fake stuff, corn sweetener or xylitol, sorbitol, or dyes * when there was no Web access and you actually talked to librarians and experts on the phone or by mail * when you typed code of computer language out of a book to develop a game with very limited features for hours only to have to retype it again, because you missed a comma or a character—making for retyping of hours of editing * only having access to music and pictures to what you bought in the Record Bar or Tower Records and pictures that you took on your disc camera or instant Polaroid * when disco died and country was cool and real * remembering television stations signing off at night to end their day of broadcasting and there were only 3 stations to choose from because cable wasn’t created * books were treasured, revered, and read as a choice of education and entertainment but they didn’t rival television because many of the books were better than lots of the programming * when radio preceded television (I was too young) but I do remember listening to years of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem and hours of radio, both day and late into the night * a small handheld Sony portable television made television viewing mobile * when people met in the classified ads * when infomercials were new and Mr. Microphone and the Pocket Fisherman reeled you in.
Change is inevitable. From my experience, people with Parkinson’s disease are not wild about change. I am not big on change, but I try to embrace innovations and new technology, as best as I can. Some changes are easier than others. Flexibility and resilience can go a long way with Parkinson’s. Life has changed in a rapid and dramatic manner. Our lives will change as will the rules of how we interact with the world and those close to us. For the foreseeable future, we must envision the welfare of others and see that we mask ourselves to prevent the spread of the contagion and minimize danger to those at risk.
A Parkinson’s Wellness Checklist
Self-care is a topic that I talk about quite a bit, on this blog. During these changing times, it can be easy to forget wellness tools that we have in our toolbox.
In helping myself to remember to do my own self-care, I developed the checklist below and thought it might be a helpful resource and tool! You might consider using the list as a daily checklist to discover some helpful sites and be inspired to start or finish a project.
Wellness is an important part of our journey with Parkinson’s disease. I believe keeping the mind, body, and spirit in balance is a holistic approach to living well with Parkinson’s. This list covers these these 3 areas of wellness and allows to you to be creative with the items you feel drawn to add.
If you know your Parkinson’s disease resources well, you might share the list with those who are less familiar with available information. I hope that this is a tool that you can use to help yourself.
The New and Improved Tools & Resource page!
I am happy to release a brand new resource page, chock full, of updated Parkinson’s disease related links, to blogs, websites, podcasts, and more – all in one convenient location. Better navigation makes it easier to find just what you are looking for. I hope this page assists you in finding helpful information on Parkinson’s and living well! Just click on the Tools and Resources button.
Stay informed and aware of what people with Parkinson’s disease are writing about, how they are dealing with the illness, and find information that may inspire or educate. Gain perspective and get unique views from people from all over the world. Broaden your outlook and see what people are working on. See how some are overcoming their symptoms and are living well with Parkinson’s.
The more you know about your illness, the better prepared you can be. Being aware and proactive may help you to take action towards improving your condition. Information is crucial to making health decisions and understanding options. There is so much to learn and share.
I believe that the real experts on illness are the people who live with illness, everyday. There is no denying the valuable contribution of the medical community, but on a daily basis, daily living is most applicable to those who are living it.
See the list of Parkinson’s organizations and keep in tune with programs and educational webinars that cover a wide range of informative topics that relate to Parkinson’s disease. Each organization offers a unique wide or regional focus that may be applicable to your needs.
I have always thought that the more tools that are in your toolbox, the better. Having a choice far outweighs a lack of options. Widening the availability of our options allows us to make more informed decisions.
Avoidance or turning a blind eye to your illness may be detrimental to your getting better. Learning about unfamiliar options can be empowering and offer comfort.
Mask It
Once again, this pandemic shows that without severe caution and diligence, it will escalate with ease. This virus is not a joke and it is not just going to go away, like magic. People all over are dying, many have died due to the stubbornness and attitude that wearing a mask, or not, is about rights. Rights are about the common good, and right now, the common good for all of us is to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, to anyone. It is not just about you. We are all in this fight, together. Wear your mask for everyone’s sake!
The number of infected and deaths from COVID-19 are staggering. If a mask means life or death, there really is no logical excuse for not wearing one.
Feel free to share this graphic on social media or with anyone you feel is on the fence of whether to wear a mask or not. If you expose someone who has a chronic health condition to the virus, you are putting them at great health risk.
Please have a safe and masked 4th of July!
A Soft Voice Chosen by Healthline.com as One of the Best Blogs on Parkinson’s Disease
Thank you @Healthline for including us for this distinct honor and acknowledging our work!
Congratulations to Allison at Perky Parky, Sharon at Twitchy Woman and my peers at @ParkinsonDotOrg @CureParkinsonsT @DavisPhinneyFND @shakeitupaust @parkinsonstory on this accomplishment.
To be included with such well respected peers is a true honor. You all make huge contributions to our #Parkinsons community that are so life changing. I am honored to be in the company of these influencers on Parkinson’s disease.
Many thanks to you, my readers for making this possible and your continued support. I hope that I can provide you with positive and useful information. My goal is to empower and to offer a fresh perspective at how we handle and perceive our chronic illness.
