Be Careful What You Wish For

Have you ever said or thought, “I’d trade places with that person in a heartbeat”?   I am sure most of us have.  I know I have.

But I can’t say that anymore.  I wouldn’t trade places with my worst enemy.  Why?

Because I have Parkinson’s Disease and trade places with that person they would have to endure what I face.  Why is that so bad?  Let me try to explain.

Every day (not most days or some days) every day I am in pain.  Somedays it might be a 3 and others it’s a 10.  But I am in pain every day all day. 

At least once each week my body decides it doesn’t want to do anything at this point in time.  It simply freezes up.  That can be sitting at home alone or that can be in a mall full of people. 

Each morning I take 12 pills.  I take 4 more during the day and 28 pills each night.  That’s on a good day.  Other days I must take more.

Many meals are a struggle.  Think of trying to eat a bowl of soup sitting in a massage chair. 

My balance is off.  I fall quite often.

I am often depressed and have memory trouble.

I can’t sleep most nights.

I can’t smile anymore because of facial masking associated with PD.

There are other reasons, but as you can see, this would be a bad trade for anybody.  I would not subject my worst enemy to a lifetime of this. 

Those who know me don't really know this because I don't complain about having PD.  My coping mechanism is humor.  I laugh about it.  Because if I don't laugh, I would cry.  And I don't like to cry.

So before you think you’d want to trade lives with someone, you might want to see what you might be getting.

God bless and have a wonderful day.