Yesterday, I wrote a post about bringing up teenagers and the teenagers that are a part of my life. Some, in reading this, may have wondered what this has to do with my journey with Parkinson’s.
This Blog is about me, about my life and my experiences as I go along this journey. This journey is inhabited and influenced by Parkinson’s and so too is Parkinson’s influenced by all facets of my life. The diagnosis – I feel – has given me a different perspective on life than I had before. It has intensified my need to be with my family and to support them, as one day they may need to support me.
Having a family support system is vitally important for those of us with such a significant diagnosis. However, while we need support, I feel that those of us who have parented and are now grand parenting, still have an obligation and a role to play in the lives of our younger family members. We are the Matriarchs and Patriarchs of our families and I hope that our life experience equips us well to provide support, love and guidance when needed.
So, when I write about my family or my thoughts regarding them, like all life experiences they cannot be thought about as a separate part of my life, but instead are an integral part of my life and my experiences.
Parkinson’s is not just about the physical and obvious effects and symptoms of the condition itself. It is about how it influences and shapes our lives in many ways. Therefore, from time to time, if I appear ‘off topic’ it is because my life is impossible to divorce one from the other.
Parkinson’s inhabits my life and my life influences my Parkinson’s.
My journey with Parkinsons 