I have been thinking about how much we take walking for granted and balance too for that matter. The weekend for me starts on a Friday and I have a Parkies exercise class that is now part of my life. One exercise involves a wide side step with wide arms and back to the centre. The instructor added something new this week and got us to hold our leg up in the air as we returned to centre. Sounds simple right? Well, I was surprised how challenging standing on one leg during this exercise proved to be. I managed it, but not without some wobbles. It just reminded me that perhaps I’ve become a bit complacent and sometimes almost forgetting this Parkies thing has a hold of me. Sometimes it’s not till I am challenged in this way that I fully grasp that these things are slowly becoming maybe a bit more of a challenge. But, that’s why I do this class, because the physio knows her stuff and knows what we need to work on to keep these legs moving and arms and all sorts of other bits of our bodies.
Another thing over the weekend, we went out for dinner for my husband’s birthday and one place we went to had a number of steps to climb to get to it. I found myself thinking ‘I wonder if they have a lift for when/if I can’t manage these?’ The same with a concert we went to and had to climb steps to get up to our level and then walk down steps to our seats. I found myself scoping out – and finding – the lift – for future reference! I also looked at where I could sit on that level if I couldn’t manage to walk down the steps. I found myself wondering if others do the same, mentally fast-forwarding to future mobility issues? I am a planner and an organiser and for me, it’s not such a negative as it is me wanting to continue to go to these places and thinking ahead, so I can go, ‘Yep, I can still go to this bar’ or ‘Yes, concerts will still be possible in this venue if I can’t manage stairs’
So, these legs are made for walking and they will continue to do so…. today was a three hour walk into the city and a picnic lunch. I will continue to do my best to keep them working and walking, but am a realist in knowing that one day it may be wobbly walking at best! So while I can I will enjoy long walks in the sunshine with my husband, but plan for how we can still have enjoyable outings to the places we enjoy being in when walking is not ideal.
My journey with Parkinsons 