A Path With Paws

I can heal, I do believe this. Yes I know Parkinson’s is progressive, yes I know I have a mutation that causes it. I’m a doctor, I’m aware of what my brain scan shows, I’m aware that I am l-dopa responsive. But I am getting better and it’s not just because of my drugs because I haven’t changed them yet I get better ever month. Anyone who has seen me recently can see this. I can type again, slowly but I am typing. I barely shake anymore. I forgot sometimes that I have this. I’m comfortable, I no longer feel like my skin doesn’t fit me. I can smile easily again – believe me this was hard a few months back. I have a bit of an abnormal gait and my left arm doesn’t swing but I can twist, turn and balance better than most 20 year olds.

Yes, I take over 30 pills a day; yes I make exercising every day a priority. But in many ways my health is incredibly good. My naturopath has a scale to measure quality of life. When I was diagnosed in October I was an 800. Normal people are below 300, excellent quality of life is below 500, good below 1000, fair below 1500, and above that is poor. Wednesday I was a 57. Yes 57! That’s better than most normies. My left side is still slow, I tremor a bit but that is it.

I don’t know what beating this looks like but to me it means staying under 500 for the rest of my life; learning how to do that and sharing any knowledge I gain with others with this disease. I think I will always be prone to get bad again if I don’t take care of myself, if I live in fear, if I stop living and enjoying ever moment. My Parkinson’s will always be there to remind me how to live and how not to live.

I’m going to Toronto in a few weeks, with my best friend, to work with Dr. Joquin Farias who specializes in working with movement disorders and neuroplasticity. I believe that I can make my dysfunctional cells work again.

Meanwhile I’m so happy to be walking, dancing, loving my animals and work and smiling! An incredible thank you to naturopaths Sam Evans and Laurie Mischley for sharing your knowledge. And every animal in the past 12 years who has showed me that nothing is impossible. Little did I know that in helping you I was helping myself.

For those of you with Parkinson’s see Using Supplements to Treat Young Onset Parkinson’s. I’ve recently updated this.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 29th, 2017 at 7:49 pm and is filed under health, parkinsons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.