I dropped the ball today…

I work in a busy hospital and have shared that I am a Social Worker in a Neurological Ward. I had a patient due to discharge and realised I had missed a few things that I should have set up for him. A lot of scrambling ensued to try to put in the supports he needed.

Part way through the process, I found myself thinking, ‘Is this my Parkinson’s at work, making me less onto it than I should be?’ I find I am sometimes sensitive to this. If I haven’t picked up on a need for someone, does that mean I am adversely affected cognitively?

It is important to me, to continue to be effective and useful in my job. To contribute. To be of value. I hate to think there will be a time when I am not. Then I stopped and thought about what work has been like lately. The ward is full. This doesn’t often happen, due to the complexity of the work. I have had some complex cases, which take time and brain power and consultation with my colleagues to work through.

Perhaps, my ‘dropping the ball’ is due to simply being over-stretched with my workload and not due to my Parkinson’s? I certainly hope so!

It helps that I have a supportive colleague that I work with. She also said she was finding she had missed a few things due to workload. It was reassuring that someone without the added complication of a Neurological disorder was also doing some ball dropping!

I think sometimes I need to cut myself some slack. To realise, that actually, I am doing pretty well considering the demands of the job and the impact of Parkinson’s. All I can do, is try my best and be kind to myself when things go a bit awry. I am not perfect, but I am human and we all make mistakes and miss things sometimes, not just us Parkies people!