You can't steal second while keeping one foot on first.

What does the heading have to do with PD? Well, it tells you to get on with your life in spite of any foot problems you are likely to encounter as a PWP. Maybe it doesn't say that, but you will not find a moan zone in this blog so I will take the initial interpretation.

You are aware that we gradually lose our sense of balance and our gait suffers. We are defined by our parky gait. The good ol' parky shuffle. Six years post DX, I find myself shuffling first thing in the morning. Before my first dose of drugs. Sure, we can still get around, but the parky gait might cause foot problems that you will not welcome into your life.

"Why is that? What causes the foot problems?" I just heard one eager student ask.

Well, my sycophantic doppelganger, our feet maintain an intimate touch with the ground more often than those "other ones". You know, the ones without PD who heel and toe as a matter of habit. We don't have that luxury so a few problems you might encounter are:

• Shuffle Along: I try, unsuccessfully, to concentrate on maintaining a "heel to toe" stride but my failure to do so results in a flat-footed shuffle. You can hear me coming and going. I will never be a ninja. Flat-footing leads to pain in my feet and legs and I have read, it can often cause knee problems
• Gator Skin: You remember "the beast", that spawn of the devil, the mother of all muscle cramps in the calf? I have read that the beast can make it harder to flex the ankles. Without that flexibility, the foot's ability to absorb the shock of contacting the ground can lead to too much hard skin on the soles of the feet.
• The Rebal Digit I have one toe on my right foot that is continually making me uncomfortable. It has a mind of its own and is impervious to drugs. It is constantly twitching and trying to curl into a ball. If I think about it, I can stop it, but I have other things to think about. Stop concentrating and it starts again. I am developing a callus on the top of my toe as a result of its constantly contacting my shoe and believe me, it hurts.
• Oh Goody - Another Enemy:Many times when the beast appears, he is accompanied by its evil assistant, the sub-monster that attempts to turn my foot inwards and upwards. The pain is excruciating, Fortunately, the duo rarely appears these days. It's the drugs. I love the drugs!

The joys of PD are endless. However, we shouldn't spend our days feeling sorry for ourselves. There are people worse off than we. In the words of Stephen Wright,"I was sad because I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet so I said to him 'Got any shoes you're not using?'"

Announcement - a DNA test has revealed that our family is 1% Ashkenazic Jew. Mazel tov readers, Mazel tov.