Staying Strong
“Strength does not come from winning. Your Struggles develop your strength. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
What is the commonality between a former United States Attorney General, an internationally known actor, and one of the most influential athletes in the history of boxing? Former US Attorney General Janet Reno, actor Michael J. Fox and boxer Muhammad Ali all suffer from the devastating effects of Parkinson’s disease just like a million other Americans who are not quite as famous as the people I mentioned above. April is Parkinson’s disease awareness month and I thought I would share about it this week in my post to help raise your awareness of this degenerative illness.
What is Parkinson’s disease? Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder that is chronic and progressive, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. I’m sure at one point or another you might have seen an individual who has an uncontrollable tremor or body movement at school, work or the store. These individuals, by no fault of their own, are suffering from a disease that there is very little known about. According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s website (www.pdf.org) “…major symptoms vary from person to person, but can include tremor, slowness of movements, limb stiffness, and difficulties with gait and balance. The cause of the disease is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage the symptoms.”
In my previous work life I’ve seen what this illness can do to the human body over a period of time. My friend when I first met him walked with a cane and had a body twitch that would cause him to swing his arms slightly and would interrupt his speech like a needle skipping on a record. By the time I left my previous employer (after 8 years), my friend was no longer ambulatory without help from his devoted wife. His bodily gyrations were so great, he had difficulty standing. In my eyes there are two hero’s to this tragedy of illness, one of them is my friend fighting his illness as hard as he can and the second hero is his wife who is his greatest advocate and fights for him (and sometimes with him) in order to help him and keep him safe. Parkinson’s usually strikes older populations past the age of fifty and there is no solid evidence as to the cause of the illness. Experts believe that there is a combination of factors like genetics and environmental issues that could be determining cause of the illness but there is no empirical evidence to stand on at this time.
As Mahatma Gandhi said that strength doesn’t come from winning…true strength comes from deciding not to surrender under the strain of hardships and challenges. It takes great strength, courage and character to face any degenerative illness and not surrender. I think of my friend and his wife and others who struggle with degenerative illness that I know and they are indeed some of the strongest people I know.
I hope as you go about your day, think about the humanity around you. Think and wonder what struggles the people around you might be navigating at the moment and maybe you might be able to draw upon their strength and develop empathy and understanding. This journey we call life is full of surprises and opportunity if we just take the time to look and listen. As always, thanks for reading, if you have any questions or comments I can always be reached via email at wmreid@bhcshealth.com. Have a great week everyone, I’ll be back on Friday with more news. Please take time to visit the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s website, it’s full of information that I think you might find interesting. Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com