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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Parkinson's Disease: Life in the Slow Lane

It happened again this morning. I was doing laundry and folding the items as I pulled them from the dryer. I normally fold fast, so, why was I having such a hard time folding this sheet?  

I learned how to fold stuff when I worked at Disney World as a teen. I worked in Re-Wrap. Visitors open packages, look at the items and then purchase unopened ones. All the opened items (shirts, towels, bedding) went to Re-Wrap. Items that weren't damaged were re-folded, re-wrapped and put back in the shops and I was one of their best. 

So, what was going on today? I wasn't stiff; I could bend my joints easily, so it wasn't the rigidity thing. I was just moving in slow motion. I thought I knew the answer, but I wanted to double check, so I went online and searched "Parkinson's slow motion", and there it was.  

Bradykinesia - slowness of movement. 

Darn! I now had another symptom of Parkinson's to add to the list. I may have had it for a while and just mistook it for rigidity, after all, the effect is almost the same, you can't move fast. 

Since my body wasn't rigid, what was causing the slow motion? I read all the medical gobbledygook and decided it was a speed problem. The instructions from my brain to my hands used to come at Star Trek warp speeds and now they were coming by Pony Express.

When I explained this to my Wonderful Husband, he chuckled and said “I think your horse died.” I agreed.

Looks like we both still have a sense of humor.



 Yee Haw!

9 comments:

  1. I would think something was going on, IF I could fold a sheet......LOL
    Keith

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  2. Bev...Your sense of humor always helps with these situations. It may take we Parkies longer to do simple tasks, but as long as we keep smiling, it will help. Thanks for sharing your stories with us...They are always a day brightener!

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  3. I remember one of my symptoms before my diagnosis was bradykinesia. My lady friend would be waiting for me, with tremendous patience, to tie my shoes and try to locate the left sleeve of my jacket. Thanks to Levocarb, I can manage the task in a fraction of the time.

    Phil

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  4. Bev you have a magical way of capturing the struggles we are challenged with each day. I love the warm positive humor you share it lifts my day.

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  5. I love your sense of humor Bev !!! I think that “my horse has died “ as well, because sometimes just to pick up something that has fallen to the floor....is just so difficult and annoying! I can see and feel that I’m moving in such slooowwww motion that I’m imagining me as a “sloth’. But I also try to stay positive, and keep moving.
    Concetta

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  6. I describe it as slapping someone under water.
    Terri

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  7. If someone asks me what having PD is like, I tell them to imagine wearing those green gardening gloves and being covered in a fine gauze almost all the time, and waking up feeling like someone was punching you all over during the night half the time.
    Scott

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  8. My now 14 year old niece said to me before I was diagnosed and hadn't started any treatment that I moved like the sloths in Zootopia, which I thought was hilarious. She keeps me laughing at this and I love her dearly for it. Scott

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