The Unfortunate Events- Dancing with Parkinson’s

This past summer of 2021 several things came into focus for me about my health.   Believe it or not the key was revealed during private Tango dance lessons.

Let me back up a little…….earlier in 2021, I noticed that my left hand was taking the shape of a bird head .  I laughed it off with a comment to my dance teacher…”I need to figure out where to place my hand on my body.  Should I place it on my hip or just dangle it.”

Then I noticed that my left arm did not swing when I walked.  It just hung there with a clenched hand like a funky bird head.  While hiking with my granddaughter, she noticed I was not using my left side of my body.    Furthermore my left hand started to shake aka tremor if I felt stressed. Bingo! something is not working here.

So I did what any other curious character does, I ‘googled’ the symptoms, which is not the best practice.  Generally speaking the worst outcomes are provided.   In my case,  stroke or Parkinson Disease. My response…. “Really”.

After several visits to ER and finally for a hospital stay because of a fall due to low blood pressure when standing which also compressed my 12 vertebra in my back, it was determined that I had Parkinson’s disease.

The last event took me 2 months to recover. However, my confidence was shaken, I was not sure I would be able to travel anymore.

I thought about it . Even though the medical staff were worried about me traveling alone, I can not live on the edge of “can’t “. So for better or worse, I decided to take the plunge to walk the Camino again by myself.

So here I sit at Sacramento international Airport waiting for my flight to Porto Portugal .. wise or unwise here we go.. i am ready