Parkinson's Journey

About a week ago, I met one of my neighbors. They travel a lot in their motor home and just pulled in from a long stretch. They were gone all winter to Arizona and for the summer, they were camp hosts over at Crater Lake. So, I wasn’t being ‘un-neighborly’. They are just never there.

I had gone to the mailbox and on the way back my neighbor was standing at the back of his motor home with two other older fellows. They were chitchatting or as some say, shooting the breeze.

I had been singing as I walked and brought it down to humming to myself as I approached the threesome and was about to walk by when my neighbor broke the conversation with his two friends to tell me to “Lighten up. Things aren’t that bad.”

Oh good. Another one of those people. Now, I have nothing against ‘those’ people. I’m not even sure what I mean by ‘those’ people, except to say, they don’t get it.

Some people measure happiness and joy by the smile plastered across someone’s face. If they’re smiling, they are doing great. How many times have you put on a smile for the crowds, meanwhile inside, your world is falling apart? Yet, it doesn’t work the same in reverse order. If you look down, people assume you are down. They aren’t familiar with the effects of Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Many think that PD is simply an illness that makes a person shake and it does. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Did you know that PD can include:
- loss of smell
- loss of balance
- stumbling
- depression
- fatigue
- dry eyes
- lack of muscle control
- tremors
- severe pain
- inability to walk safely
- stiffness
- etc

So, when my neighbor, standing across the street, interrupted his friends to make his comment about me putting a smile on my face and added, “Now, isn’t that better?” when I forced it, I was frustrated. I was happy.

So often, we think unless the other person is smiling, something’s wrong. We assume that something is troubling them. People with PD have a disadvantage in this area – being able to show on the outside, how they feel on the inside. A person with PD often loses his or her smile, as the facial muscles in a PD patient has caused their smile to disappear. Many people, who know nothing about PD, don’t understand that reality and make it their lot in life to yell at others to put a smile on their face, if they don’t see one there already. If that weren’t enough, they follow it up with, “Now, isn’t that better?”

Being happy doesn’t mean you walk around with a smile plastered on your face. I see many sad, disheartened, lonely people all over the place who have a plastered smile on their face and inside they are dealing with the darkest places of their life.

The next time you see someone who looks lonely, sad, down – ask how he or she are doing. You might be surprised at their reaction.