I am a member of a very supportive Facebook Page for people with Parkinson’s in Australia and New Zealand. It is for the most part a positive page and a great forum for discussion about the things that affect us Parkies folk!
I read with concern a post by a member of the group, who has had a terrible experience recently at a beauty salon. It sounds like she is in the earlier stages of our condition and what I read about her experience shocked me. Below is an excerpt from her post.
“….she asked why is my arm shaking- I told her I have a tremor from Parkinson’s Disease… she told me she can’t do my eyelashes she’s not a doctor and expressed concern something might go wrong… “
Plus “you’ll need to go get a Dr’s letter” before I can do your eyelashes”.
They were rightfully shocked and appalled when she was literally ushered out of the door with the proprietor saying she had to protect her business!!
From the sounds of it the PWP is still very active, walking, going to the gym and doing lots of activities, which – dare I say it – are likely to be much more hazardous than getting your eyelashes done! This is incredibly insensitive and unreasonable and the PWP was very upset for the rest of the day. There is no excuse for this type of behaviour. It is unreasonable at the very least and shows an ignorance beyond belief. Surely the client requesting the lashes would know whether this was safe for her or not? To act in such a way, particularly if there were other clients in the salon, was totally uncalled for and would have been very embarrassing for them, I’m sure. It was also completely unnecessary!
She was mortified by the salon owner’s actions and her response was to refuse to get the doctor’s letter and to go elsewhere. I’m afraid my response would not be so polite!
It reminds me of a time I took one of my children to have their hair cut. When they sat in the chair the hairdresser started to comb my child’s hair and then said in a loud voice ‘I can’t cut your child’s hair. They have nits!’ My poor child was mortified – I think they were around 10 and old enough to be embarrassed – and we scurried out of there feeling that all eyes were upon us. Another time I took them for a haircut, despite treatment the nasty wee critters were back. This time the stylist – a different salon I might add – quietly parted the child’s hair and pointed discretely at what she found. Not a word was uttered to embarrass my child. She took me to one side and told me she would sterilise the combs and things she used and it was not a problem but thought she should make me aware of it. I was so grateful and when I told my child when we got home, so were they.
There are certainly better ways of people expressing their discomfort perhaps when asked to provide a service for us. I know that I have learnt to be up front about my Parkinson’s so that I – and the person who is providing the service – can be comfortable. As an example, I now know that when I go to the Dentist that for my comfort and safety I remind them each time that I have Parkinson’s with a swallow problem and having jets of water go into my mouth and throat can freak me out, with causes significant tremors. We have agreed that I signal by raising my hand if I need her to stop for a few minutes and that works reasonably well. Not that I will ever enjoy going to the Dentist!
I would have found the attitude of the beautician to be very upsetting too! It is almost infantizing to refuse to provide the service just because someone has Parkinson’s. As an adult – despite our condition – we will all be in touch with our bodies and our symptoms and when is a good time, or indeed not a good time, to have an appointment that may prove challenging. We are thinking and mature adults who certainly don’t need someone that doesn’t know us – or anything about our condition – in their ignorance to discriminate against us. We are not a child too young and inexperienced to know what we are asking for from their service. We have not suddenly become totally inept and unable to make decisions!
Sometime in the future, some things may become difficult or unsafe for us to do, but taking away our right to choose is cruel and unnecessary beyond belief.
We still have rights and certainly have feelings that we must not let others take away from us.
My journey with Parkinsons 
I totally agree that it could have been handled more sensitively but I do have some sympathy for the beautician too. The dyes they use are similar to hair dyes, aren’t they? They’re quite strong chemicals. I presume that she was worried about getting some in the client’s eye if she started having facial tremors?
It’s a sad thing but Australia seems to be following the US in litigation patterns, with people more inclined to threaten to sue if anything goes wrong.
If it was me, I would probably consider going in beforehand when a business-was quiet and explaining the situation and asking their opinion and advice.
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Hi Rebecca. You make some good points, as you always do! Seeing it from that perspective, I can see there could have been some legitimate concerns for the beautician, but for the most part, I think it would have given a much better message if explained quietly and respectfully. I am sure there would probably have been others in the salon – although this was not stated – and so the lack of explanation and perhaps the audience witnessing this interaction would make it hard to take, I’m sure.
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