I’m not sure if modern children – I am ageing myself here – would even know what Tiddlywinks is! It is a very simple game with counters that you flick into a cup, using another larger counter. This is what I often say when things go wrong at bowls, “I should have just stayed home and played Tiddlywinks!”
It’s a funny thing bowls. You can play good bowls, great bowls, mediocre bowls and shockingly bad bowls, all in the same game. It’s like you don’t have the ability to learn from your mistakes, or sometimes even remember how you sent down a brilliant bowl. When the Skip says, “Just do that again!” I sometimes stand there and think “Shit! I can’t remember which hand I played and now he is asking me to repeat it.” Next thing, you send away your bowl and you can hear someone behind you say, “Why did she change hands? The Skip said to do the same again!” Ohhhh, Oooops. Would have done the same again if I could remember which side I played it in the first place….
Things are going to be a bit trickier for someone with Parkinson’s playing a sport like bowls. With slowed processing and a lower threshold for fatigue setting in, the Parkinson’s bowler – well this one anyway – may struggle from time to time to achieve the shot that they want. Someone asked me today what spot I aimed for when bowling and I gave him some sort of answer, but really I kind of just do it by instinct. Instinct works for me most of the time, but sometimes I think my instinct is having a nap when it isn’t working for me.
Another thing with playing bowls – which is quite good exercise – walking up and down the rink and delivering 2-3 bowls can be tiring. It is certainly much more exercise than sitting here at my computer.
I take medications for my Parkinson’s, my arthritis and for the effects of a hiatus hernia. I take them four times a day, basically Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Bed. I have a rough time to take them and try to take them reasonably on time, but I have never been someone too tied to routine. So far, I get away with it! As well as bowls, I go swimming at our local pool three times a week at 6am. I had struggled one morning to do many lengths at all and what I did do, I had to stop and start as I was getting breathless. I got out of the pool and felt a bit weak and there was a bit of a step up to get some things I left at the side off the pool. It didn’t feel very safe and I had to steady myself before I could get them.
Usually, I take my medications when I have my breakfast and if I am not going swimming, that might be 8am or thereabouts. I would swim in the mornings first and then take my meds when I came home. So, that is quite some time before I have medication on board and I have obviously expended more energy than other mornings. I start to swim at 6am and I started to wonder if perhaps I should take my meds before I leave home at about 5.30am. I tried it the other day and by the time I got myself organised and in the water there might have been 3/4 of an hour from meds to swimming. I did notice a difference in that I didn’t feel as fatigued or breathless as I had been.
Today, I took my meds at 12pm when I got to the bowling club. In fact, it might have been more like 12.15pm. I played a shocking game of bowls, with shots going wide – and I struggled to know why – and shots going short and shots being in the ditch. Throughout the game of triples, I did a few decent shots, but there were more duds than good ones. Then we went on to play pairs. The difference between the two games was incredible. I actually played some great bowls and we were getting three and four bowls on more than one or two ends. We won the game with a significant margin. Someone asked what made the difference that I could suddenly play good bowls. Sure, I had three bowls instead of two and that certainly helped, but more than that I think the meds had had a chance to be absorbed into my system and do their job.
I think I will take my meds an hour before bowling to see if that helps.
So, maybe I will postpone my change of sport from bowls to tiddlywinks.
I don’t need to start planning a tiddlywinking tournament just yet!
My journey with Parkinsons 