No bombs are pounding your house, no zika virus is threatening your baby, no rebels are kidnapping your daughters, no mafia, no nothing. It’s pretty safe, the Netherlands.
Your children can go to school, and you can work or do whatever else takes your fancy. You can call your GP if that hamstring injury is causing unbeeeeearable pain, you can down a couple of paracetamol and crawl into your safe, warm bed. It’s pretty safe, your own existence. If you’re lucky, that is.
How are you supposed to muddle along with your work and everything? They advise you not to set your bar too high. That, quite frankly, is an insult. You’re talented, you want to have it all, you can do anything you set your mind to, so why on earth should you lower your bar? A different bar or slightly less bars, now that’s another matter. But a lower bar? That’s the same as gunning for gold in the 200m and then going for a cool-down instead. A different bar then. I recently read about a job that I would truly excel in. If, like me, you’ve got Parkinson’s, then I urge you to read on. Because this, dear reader, might just be something for you.
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Torn hamstring, torn calf muscle. Boy did that hurt! Went to the doctor, who duly informed me that it would take 8 to 10 weeks to recover. The pain became unbearable. Went back to the doc, and this time I wanted a new leg. ‘New leg’s not possible, I’m afraid. It’ll take 8 to 10 weeks to fully recover’– yep, you said that last time. So, no new leg? Nope, no new leg.
Hamstring gescheurd, kuitspier gescheurd, man wat een pijn. Naar de huisarts, die me vertelt dat het 8 tot 10 weken kan duren, dat herstel. Pijn neemt toe. Weer naar de huisarts, want nu wil ik een nieuw been. Krijg geen nieuw been. Herstel duurt 8 tot 10 weken – ojaaa dat had je vorige keer ook gezegd. Dus geen nieuw been? Nee, geen nieuw been.
Lijstje: 7 verschillen, 2 overeenkomstenJe denkt dat dokter en patient totaaaaal verschillen. Dat is ook zo, maar de overeenkomsten tellen denk ik zwaarder. (more…)
I’ve seen bigger moons, declared my friend on our girlies’ night out in London. The distance between the earth and the moon was tiny that night. And it was a full moon, so it looked massive. My husband called from the Netherlands, to insist that we pop outside and take a peek. A once in a lifetime event, he said. He was right: it was colossal! Quite intimidating. Spooky, in fact. My friend was less impressed. She glanced at it nonchalantly, and declared: I’ve Seen Bigger Moons Than THAT!
Ik heb weleens een grotere maan gezien, zei ze op een girlies’ night in Londen. De afstand tussen de maan en de aarde was superklein, het was ook nog eens volle maan, dus hij was gigagroot. Mijn man belde vanuit Nederland om te zeggen dat we naar buiten moesten om naar de maan te kijken. Eenmalige gebeurtenis en hij had gelijk: wat een reusachtig ding! Werd er bijna bang van. Spooky. Mijn vriendin was minder onder de indruk. Ze keek naar de maan en riep: I Have Seen Bigger Moons Than THAT! Precies de goeie tekst na een paar gin tonics, een curry en chocola als toetje. Wat een zielige ieniemienie maan zeg, bijna niet te zien, zie jij een maan? Kom girls, we gaan weer naar binnen, heb zin in een laatste gin tonic. Maar de maan WAS groot, groter dan ooit, dichterbij dan ooit. Net als parkinson. Op…
You sometimes find yourself wondering: What would it be like if I didn’t have Parkinson’s? Which is why I’ve listed the top 10 differences between having and not having Parkinson’s below.
Je denkt weleens: hoe zou het zijn als je geen parkinson had? Ik heb daarom de 10 topverschillen tussen wel en niet hebben van parkinson op een rij gezet. Met niet-hebben bedoel ik dat je gezond bent. Omwille van de vergelijking. En voor dat parkinson kun je je eigen gezondheidsding invullen. (more…)
The great thing about getting a nasty disease is that you start to appreciate the little things in life soooo much more than you used to. Isn’t it just wonderful to watch the sun rise, set, or whatever your sun does? To hear a bird sing, even if this particular little thing does keep you awake at 5 in the morning. You know, you’re just so happy to be alive, that not even a bird singing the same song over and over and OVER again, can change that.
The Dutch ParkinsonNet is an online platform for Parkinson's care providers that evolved from a joint initiative between the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre and the Dutch Society of Neurology’s ‘Movement Disorders Working Group’. The concept is simple: build a comprehensive portfolio of healthcare professionals, provide and share knowledge and expertise, and organise events. The primary target audience is health care professionals, the secondary men and women with Parkinson’s. Quality Parkinson's care (regardless of whether that’s fragmented and split between neurologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists etc.) is a prerequisite for such a platform. Yet, even though ParkinsonNet is now relatively well known within the Netherlands, most patients don’t even pay a weekly or monthly visit to the site. If ever. It’s not necessary either. ParkinsonNet costs money ParkinsonNet costs money. Think people, offices, education and congress. For an idea of the associated price tags (the following figures have been extracted…
Use it or lose it – The doctor tells the guy who is losing his dopamine and his mobility and his freedom along with it.
The guy exercises like mad, takes his medication on time and sticks to a healthy diet. The guy is using everything he has to avoid losing his mobility and his freedom along with it. (more…)
Parkinson’s therapy consists of medication, lifestyle and exercise. Most of the people with Parkinson’s use a drug dispenser to make sure they take their meds on time. I do. (more…)
Okay, fair enough: there is no escape. Or is there? Upon diagnosis a substantial percentage of your dopa producing cells will have already packed in. Irreversibly. By that time dopamine production will have usually reduced to at least 30% or 40% in one of your substantia nigra. Which to me is dark matter in itself. Mind you, I once asked a neurologist what a neurotransmitter looks like. “Well, he said, I’ve never actually seen one.” Right. (more…)