Parkinson's Month is Every Month around Here (AKA Longwood Gardens Tulips)

The month of April is officially known as Parkinson's Awareness Month. April 11th, this year, was officially World Parkinson's Day. Unlike for birthdays and Christmas, it would seem, we don't get presents for our day. If we do, mine are still waiting to be delivered on a 1980's style 6-8 weeks for delivery deal for the turn around in shipping and handling.

Nevertheless, we do get tulips as our official flower. More specifically, we get red tulips with a fringe of white, but since I have a month where nobody baked me a cake, much less gave me a gift card, I'm taking all colors for all of us who have Parkinson's or know someone that does.

That means that you win, too!

That said, it's not like I didn't get anything "extra" with PD. Comorbid conditions abound as Parkinson's is the gift that keeps giving. Since I've had it (symptoms 2011 - preliminary diagnosis September 27, 2016 - actual diagnosis November 1, 2016), I got way more than the standard tremors.

1) A whole lot of learning (25 of those things are HERE).
2) Hyperhidrosis
3) Lyme disease, though they just found that while looking for Parkinson's - it's the Great Imitator. This was my "biggest, bestest" free toaster for playing.
4) REM sleep behavior disorder
5) A 2-part battle with pneumonia HERE and HERE and concerns of aspiration pneumonia like swallow studies and shuffling off this mortal coil.
6) Bradykinesia concerns
7) Dystonia starting to take hold
8) Anxiety and mental overload concerns

And my family and friends got them, too! Bonanza!

So yeah... I've learned other things, too, but I'd rather not focus on that. I'd rather give you all tulips of empathy, support, and good vibes to brighten your day as you do mine when you read my writings or offer me support.

You're awesome!
If you like this article, please like my Facebook page to be updated with more essays as they post. I write about Parkinson's and the things that keep me happy, thus extending my quality of life, somewhere in stage 2.

These photos are from Longwood Gardens, which is outside Philadelphia. I took them 2 weeks ago, when my wife and I went to visit, as we do regularly (we get the year passes). Enjoy them and remember that Parkinson's is more than 30 days a year. Never stop educating and advocating!

10 Thoughts to Change the Negative to Positive

The past few weeks at Chateau Glass have been rough. First, we've finally been getting out of the hospitalization issues (pneumonia and hypoxia) that early winter gave us and getting ready to go through the sleep apnea stuff (my machine becomes mine at 3pm today).

Then, we have the fact that every day with Parkinson's is a challenge, so yeah.

Sometimes, not even a cheesesteak can solve that.

Work has been busy for both of us, and juggling other issues of life with it, yeah... it's definitely a challenge.

With that, my wife had to have on the spot gallbladder surgery, which saw her miss 11 days of work. Yes, she's better now, but that smarts both of us (the patient, the caregiver, and the extended family support team). Fortunately, she had minimal surgery (on the left) and was in and out the same day.

Then, on Sunday, I got into a car accident that destroyed my beloved Yaris. Fortunately, both the guy driving the other truck (a Dodge Ram) and I were OK, though I'm shook up and sore on the left side. All things considered, so much of it could have been worse. My car, officially-named the Macho Dude, took the hit squarely and kept me safe. The Yaris takes a lot of abuse, but I loved mine.

Unfortunately, it "died" in order to keep me safe.

Before the accident, it gave me 251,000+ miles. My mechanic at Meineke said it owed me nothing. I would have liked 50,000 more miles, but life happens the way it does for a reason.

So I got another Yaris and went to 2016 (I had 2007), and while it's not new, it's new to me. I'm still thinking of a name for it.

We can contemplate being in the book of Jobs (see quote above) or the Book of Job (even though it's Biblical, it is taught in literature classes as well - essentially, why does the universe / God test good people with bad situations), or we can focus on the good things in life and stay as strong as possible while we work it all out.

Like I always say about my wife and me: "We'll get through. It's what we do."

If we don't stop to see our good opportunities in the midst of life, we might miss the chance to make someone else's life better.

One of my greatest do-overs in life would be to sing Christmas carols for Laney, a local girl who died on Christmas day a few years ago. Many people came to do it. It was national news. Even Taylor Swift played a part. At the time, I didn't investigate the story more because I didn't realize it was only 25 minutes away. It's a very life-affirming story, and now they have a small memorial to her gentle spirit. However, I was so caught up in me that I didn't see what I could do for someone else.

Regret, regret, regret.

So with that, I give you this week's list of things to stay half full and optimistic in spite of our own issues.

#1) Never give up an opportunity to give a real or metaphorical Toyota "Oh, what a feeling" jump when the opportunity presents itself.

#2) Get your family involved in your life. In this case, my mom did a Parkinson's walk with me a few weeks ago.

#3) Count yourself lucky when your family stands with you and supports you through tough times.

#4) Cherish your memories of family.

#5) Live vicariously through young people. Encourage, inspire, and educate them while having fun with them or supporting their fun.

#6) Look at the stars in wonder of how small whatever is in our life really is.

#7) Sit outside and let the world drift by at the fireplace.

#8) When life gives you night herons, stop to admire them and take their pictures.

#9) 1 word - massage.

#10) Take time to smell the flowers, especially the tulips, which are the official flower of Parkinson's Awareness. These pictures are from my wife's garden.