Fighting Parkinson’s, and where it all began, part 10

Seven years ago, I began doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. Of course, back then it did not have a name…it was just what I was doing. At the same time, I began keeping a hand-written Parkinson’s Daily Journal. It is time to share my journal with all of you. Here is my October 7, 2009 journal entry, seven years ago today.

“10/07/09. Got up at 4, very slow moving. Got to the kitchen at 4:09, my record for slowness.

Today I decided to go up and down the stairs the normal way with each foot going to the next step rather than two feet on a single step before advancing. I had to hold onto the railing and use some arm strength to accomplish this, but I went up and down the stairs this way a couple of times.

My legs are tight and they ache. My knees hurt, and when I sit to rest, the tremors in my lower legs and feet are pronounced.

The St. Pete Times came late today, so I made two trips down the driveway this morning. I was surprised to find myself out of breath with a fast heartbeat after the second trip down the driveway. My body “wakes up” slowly, so I am guessing that was the problem.”

Well, here I was, ten days into doing the Recipe, and I still was in perfectionist adrenaline-mind mode. “Clocking” my record for slowness is sad; I cannot think of another way to describe it.

As you can see, I could not go up or down the stairs without holding on. In some blog posts, I have discussed my “less is more” theory of Parkinson’s movement – the slower I moved, the easier it was and the less energy it took. Eventually, I let go of my stubbornness and reverted back to the “two feet on a single step before advancing” way of going up and down the stairs because the upper body strength it started taking to pull myself up the stairs used up too much energy.

Click here for a refresher of “less is more.”

You can do it!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard

Please note: I will be posting one post per day through the middle of November. If you subscribe to receive email notifications when I post new blog posts and you would prefer to not receive those daily email notifications, simply send me an email at howard@fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com, and let me know that you do not wish to receive a daily email with a link to each post. I will remove you from the list through the middle of November and add you back on the list after the middle of November. However, I still would recommend you checking the blog on a regular basis as it will contain very useful information for understanding my journey and helping with your journey.