I once said to someone who gave me unsolicited advice on how to deal with Parkinson’s: look, I might be losing my health, but I’m certainly not losing my mind. So if I need advice, I’ll ask for it, okay? And you might or might not be on my preferred shortlist of advisors. That was a bit harsh.
It fell apart. I truly believed, felt even, that the world had fallen apart. Heard it rumbling throughout the night, louder and louder and then! Then what? Worlds do tend to fall apart from time to time. Ours did when one of our children died. In fact, it was her world that fell apart, her future. But our world and our future were forever tied to hers, so our world fell to pieces too. The word Acceptance is out of the question. Nope. Not me. Picking up the pieces to rebuild a cracked and broken world, absolutely. You have to build a world, in order to be able to face the future, a world for your family of 5 + 1. And somehow you manage, you get back on your feet. Stumbling over the rocks and stones of your previous world, carefully picking them up, carrying them with you wherever…
If there’s one thing I find stressful, it’s spring. Especially when it’s nice weather. You can’t simply slob out in front of the telly, knock out a new column, read a book, or tidy out that cupboard you’ve been meaning to. No way, not in this weather. Totally Out of the Question. If you’re still in bed at 8am at the weekend in this weather, you already feel it coming. Spring stress. (more…)
Whaaaat??? It’s true. I want to give up that whole ‘control’ thing. Especially when it comes to the health care that I receive. Control is a word that doesn’t belong in the world of health care. At all. When I studied Health Care Management and Administration, a long time ago, it was trendy to talk about demand-driven care. More than 20 years on and it has yet to be successfully implemented.
Say what you like, but the lives of most women share 1 Big Constant.
Regardless of how hard you toil in that office, shop, factory, or whatever; it always comes back to haunt you. (more…)
I also want a younger woman. Not that I’ve had enough of my husband. On the contrary, he’s the best. But I often hear something along the lines of: My first wife didn’t really like that I was so active / youthful / entrepreneurial. You sort of grow apart from each other, don’t you? Personally, I’m extremely young in spirit and, just between you and me, in body too, if you know what I mean, hahaha! And adventurous, I’m extremely adventurous. Actually, I knew right from the start, I mean, she’s very sweet and everything, and great with the kids, but yeah, a real couch potato, mad about Countdown, you know the type. Always wanted to go to the same camp site every year. In fact, come to mention it, that’s where it happened. Spotted a young bit of skirt walking around. Unbelievably fit. A real bit of alright! She…
This time round we’re organising the Parkinson’s Awareness Super Cure Games. The whole world is taking part, so millions of people. We’ve divided the Games across a number of different countries. Every country has its own team of players, its own audience and is vying for the same trophy: The Super Cure Trophy. To make things a little trickier though, each country can only win 1 small piece of that Trophy. And you don’t know before hand which piece it will be or, indeed, with which other country it will fit. (more…)
Dit jaar organiseren we de Parkinson’s Awareness Super Cure Games. De hele wereld doet mee, miljoenen mensen dus. We hebben de Games verdeeld over een aantal landen.
I had such a good laugh the other day! You? No? Why ever not? Never been through the mill? Strange. Nothing serious on the horizon either? Granted, you never know of course, but you really mean to say that there’s nothing even remotely unpleasant on the cards? So, what do you use for joke material? (more…)
Ik heb toch zo gelachen, joh. Jij? Niet? Hoezo niet, heb je niks ergs meegemaakt ofzo? Gek. En zit er ook niets iets ergs aan te komen? Nee, logisch, nee, dat weet je nooit natuurlijk, maar je hebt ook niet iets akeligs in het verschiet? Waar haal je dan je grappen vandaan? (more…)
For some reason, the thought of losing my freedom of movement fills me with particular dread. Why, I can’t quite put my finger on. When I try to imagine it, I picture myself in a room clad with dated wallpaper, sitting in a grimy chair with a not-so-fresh glass of water. With a straw. And, I’m waiting you see, just waiting.
Ik heb geen idee waar ik het over heb, maar verlies van bewegingsvrijheid lijkt me erg. Wat ik daar nou helemaal erg aan vind, weet ik niet. Als ik er aan denk, zie ik mezelf zitten in een morsige stoel in een kamer met oud behang en een net niet fris glaasje water. Met een rietje. En wachten he, wachten. (more…)
Som
mige van mijn beste vrienden hebben geen parkinson, maar dat betekent niet dat ik ze niet respecteer. Toch blijft het moeilijk om precies de juiste woorden te vinden op het juiste moment. Je bent altijd bang om ze te kwetsen. Ik bedoel, als je geen parkinson hebt, WAT heb je dan wel? Vast niet iets dat net zo speciaal is. (more…)