Sunday, June 24, 2012

Milking it for all its worth

As I was leaving a disabled parking spot in Coogee, Sydney one afternoon a jealous older woman yelled at me asking if I had my Granny's disabled sticker. I was so incensed that I drove around the block and was going to give her a serve but fortunately for her she had left.

I HAVE A DISABLED PARKING STICKER and I never want to give it up. When I was trawling the dating sites my big joke was to put it on my profile as an attractive quality. I don't hesitate to use it. Hey I'VE GOT PARKINSON'S. I'm enitled to a disabled parking sticker although I'm not really disabled in the sense of the word that most of you imagine (Yet).

Different people have different reactions to having a chronic or degenerative condition. They either hide it from everyone so as not to invite sympathy or special behaviour. Not me. I milk it for everything that I can. This is not to say that I whinge and whine about having Parkinson's. It means that I get every benefit I'm entitled to without embarrassment. One thing I must add here is that I have a very slow degenerating strain of Parkinson's. Every body has a very personal Parkinson's. No two people have exactly the same symptoms. Effectively I can still  do most things I have always done albeit a little slower.

Recently I had a music night at my house where everyone had to perform something. My contribution was a dance called "The Parkinson" which of course involved shaking all body parts to the wonderful music Bombora. It was a hit as the whole room was up shaking to the music. It was hilarous anda very irreverent attitude which in my opinion is essential.


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