It’s a very long time since I posted here. Lots of things have happened. I officially retired in October 2022, but am remaining active. My Parkinson’s is generally under control, and I’ll try and write more about that soon.
Thank you to all who have been in touch. I’ll try and respond. Thanks for your patience.
Season’s greetings and all the best for 2023.
Jeremy
It’s a long time since I’ve written this blog. A lot has happened. And I have spent a lot of time indoors during the Covid crisis. Things have been difficult, but hopefully they’re getting better now. I want to bring you up to date on what’s been happening with my Parkinson’s and begin to catch up with old and new friends alike. So, please bear with me. I’m hoping to post blogs quite frequently in the next few weeks on many different subjects which have been preoccupying me over the last months. See you again soon.
I haven’t really written much in the blog recently. The last post was at the end of September, just before teaching began, when I left a video for my students to explain the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Over the last few months, I’ve had some ups and downs – more downs than ups, I think sometimes. I certainly haven’t managed to produce posts as frequently as I had before the summer, so in the near future I would like to talk more about specific events such as the holiday in Malawi, the return to work, voice therapy and physiotherapy, amongst others. These are all Good Things. However, today I want to focus on the downs of Parkinson’s.
Continue readingIn this video I explain to my students at University how I have adapted my teaching in view of my Parkinson’s.
It was 38°C in London this week. On Thursday the result was that I officially melted. Normally I like hot weather, and normally I can operate up to around 32°C, but this week is different. People with Parkinson’s are warned that extreme hot weather may worsen the symptoms. Yet I made several crucial mistakes that are to be avoided: underestimating the heat, going out around midday to pick up something from a friend’s house and to buy a few things in the shops. I had to seek refuge in a Pharmacy that had air conditioning and in the local bakery I had to avail myself of the chance to purchase an ice cream from the newly installed stand.
My walking was up the creek, the tiredness made me sweat and shuffle along. This has persisted for the last few days. My balance is poorer and my slowness is worse. In a Tai chi class this morning I had to sit down because I kept losing my balance. I fear that my symptoms are progressing inexorably – and that is scary – but I must tell myself this is quite probably due to the hot weather. It’s important to carry on so I shall be going out walking this afternoon to pick up a few things for our holiday. I’ll put on my music and hopefully get the rhythm to mark my pace. My Parkinson’s pace.
Probably my main frustration with Parkinson’s is the difficulty I have in walking. I do the Parkinson Shuffle sometimes or I tend to drag my right leg. It’s a particular problem going uphill. And we do live on quite a steep hill… So, if I go out early in the morning and walk up the road towards the railway station I’m very likely to shuffle, limp and perhaps come to a grinding halt after crashing into a tree or lamppost. On the other hand, if I start by going down the hill, after about 10 minutes I am walking quite freely.
I try and go for a walk most days for around 40 minutes. Often I listen to music as I go. Bruce Springsteen and New Order work very well to help improve my step. I’ve also noticed other things that assist me. A nearby road has a pavement of flagstones rather than tarmac. The lines of the flagstones are at just the right distance for me to place my foot. This makes it much easier for me to make a full step with the right foot. The other thing which helps me is to blinker my eyes with my hands to shut off noise and to allow me to concentrate on walking forwards. This one really works…. even if onlookers think I’m mad. But my walking varies from day to day and it is frustrating not to be able to be sure how long it is going to take to walk to a particular destination. When people ask how I am, I often reply ‘My walking hasn’t been good today’ or ‘I’ve been walking really well recently’. Health is measured by walking pace and never, sadly, do I get that feeling of exhilaration when you start walking in the morning and sense the energy flowing through your veins.
parkinsonSpace 