Now that the project is complete, a few thoughts to close with. First, everybody has a different case of Parkinson's Disease. Some have no tremor, some have strongly predominant tremor. Some progress through the disease stages quickly, some slowly. Some are affected more on their right side, others on the left, and so on. So a day with PD is likely to be very different from one individual to another.
And one person can vary substantially from day to day. I took notes all day on a day chosen at random to base this narrative on. It is faithful to those notes for that day except for obvious exaggeration for humor, i.e. exploding curry.
If I seem to be coping well, it's more due to luck than personal virtue. First and foremost I was lucky to marry a person of great steadfastness and understanding. Second I am benefiting from years of patient and difficult research and the imaginative thinking of doctors, scientists and patients who have collaborated over the long run to find the medications and surgical procedures that I benefit from every day. Without them I would be bedridden right now.
Finally, thank you for reading and commenting. Your thoughts and observations help me to clarify what I do and where it goes. A cartoonist without readers is a bird without a sky.
2 comments:
We had the insight in our early twenties to choose life partners "of great steadfastness and understanding;" that may have been the single greatest decision of our lives. I try to remember that on days when the Parkinson's gets me down. A Toast to Pam, Frank, and all the dedicated, faithful spouses who listen hard, and when faced with the crud Parkinson's throws remind us that it is Parkinson's causing the problems and that none of us chose it but we chose to face whatever life brings with it together.
You had insight, I had luck! What's important now is to let people know how glad you are that they stuck around. Not everyone does. It helps if they have the sense that you are trying your utmost to cope. Give my best to Frank. Maybe we'll meet some day.
Peter
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