Motion

As I was reading today's post, I was reminded of those famous, and infamous, people who suffer with Parkinson's disease. People like Janet Reno, Muhammad Ali, and Michael J. Fox. I think us young-onset Parkies relate well to Fox because, after all, he's going through what we are.

I just took my third dose of pills for the day, and I hope they kick in quickly, cause I ain't moving too well.

To Move or Not To … (You know the rest), 7/27/09

I’ve been reading Michael J Fox’s new book, Always Looking Up, and really enjoying it. I like his style of writing because I can relate to so much of what he says, and I also feel that he can relate to me without even knowing who I am. His description of the dyskinesias that shake his body, for example, is dead on. The opposite, bradykinesia, he again describes well. Being a self-proclaimed optimist, he chooses the dyskinesia over the bradykinesia; to move versus not moving. He relates the story of the commercial he shot for Claire McCaskill, the candidate running for Senate in Missouri, and how the dyskinesia was such a part of him that he didn’t even realize he was shaking. He also tells of his reaction to Rush Limbaugh’s comments after the commercial aired.
So why am I writing all this? As I said, I can relate to what he’s going through. One day, I won’t be able to move with any certainty that I’ll make it across the room on my feet. I took my pills, same time, same dose, but you wouldn’t know it. Then the next day, I can’t seem to hold still. I totally exhaust myself with wild flailing. So the question is (to paraphrase Shakespeare): to move or not to move. Whichever day I’m having, I’d gladly trade for a little of the other. For the most part, though, I’d have to pick moving over not moving. Does that make me an optimist? Not in and of itself. Especially when I’m shaking so much that I can’t manage to eat without making a mess. But moving is preferable to sitting like a lump in a chair, staring out the window because you can’t do anything else. Would you agree?