YumaBev becomes the Top Banana

For the last couple of years, I have been attending our local Parkinson's Support Group meeting. I am the youngest member and the silliest one, too. In January, our current leader, Greg, decided to step down and asked me to take over the group. I said yes and within an hour or so, all the official paperwork was done. So, now I was the Top Banana and even had the costume to prove it.

February was my first official meeting and mostly I just gave people information about upcoming seminars, what to do if you have to go to the hospital, the dreaded "exercise is best" talk and threw in some laughs as well. 

NPF's Aware in Care Hospital Kit

At the March meeting, I played my before and after DBS videos and we all sang along to my song parody called Winter Wondering. 

I try to keep the meetings upbeat and informative; this time handing out flyers for a little known benefit that might help some of our Parkies who are Veterans, and another about a USB Medical Bracelet from the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. 

I'm hoping to get the Mayor of Yuma to come to our April meeting and personally bring the Parkinson's Awareness Month Proclamation. And after that, who knows. Most of our members will be heading back north soon, but the rest of us will find something to do over the long hot Summer. 

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https://www.youtube.com/user/ParkinsonsHumor

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Local Parkinson's Support Groups are good for you

I go to a local Parkinson's Disease Support Group, but a lot of my Parkie friends won't go to these meetings. They say it is too depressing, seeing people who are worse off then they are. I think they are wrong.

I am the youngest Parkie in my group, but sometimes younger people come to learn how to help Mom or Grandpa. We have members in all stages of this disease and the one thing I have noticed is: We all look forward to these once a month lunch time gatherings. Why? Because we share stories, we laugh, we see how people have adapted and we see hope. And of course, the desserts are great!

There are a few who still work for a living, which I cannot, unless someone wants to pay me to write these funny stories. There are a few who have had the DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) surgery, there are some who can no longer walk, but we all connect with one another, plus our care-partners get to talk to other care-partners and there are a lot of hugs.

Support Group Members

The way I see it, if seeing other Parkies in worse shape than you are is depressing, then I guess you shouldn't go visit your Parents when they get older and forget the Grandparents completely. After all, they aren't young anymore and you will probably end up looking like one of them someday. I already have the "Goshert" family chin, so prominent in family photos of my Aunts, Uncle and Grandpa.

I've already got the Goshert Family chin

Maybe it's because I grew up with senior citizen parents, but I like being around older people. Most don't complain about what they can't do anymore. Joke about it? Yes. Laugh about it? Yes, but complain? No.  

Plus, they have unique ways of adapting, like the man I saw yesterday using his golf putter as a cane, "Works much better this way than it ever did on the golf course!" he said. Or the one that had all his buttons on his favorite shirts replaced with snaps "I can pretend I'm a Chippendale at bed time and just rip it open" he laughed.  

Check out a local support group, if there is one near you, you might just have a good time and make some new friends!  Plus the desserts are really, really good.

Thank you for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed it. This is just one of a hundred stories in my book, Parkinson's Humor - Funny Stories about My Life with Parkinson's Disease. Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon or your favorite online book seller. Thank you and have a Happy Parkie Day!