Walk like a man, fast as you can...

Parkinson's raised its ugly head yesterday. I was out for my walk at 5AM and after about 2 miles, my legs started to feel, well, odd.

"Go home," I said to myself. But no, I am nothing if I am not obsessive. I had to finish that last mile. Every step was getting smaller and required more effort, but I kept on. Then, when I was a half a block from home, it hit me. I couldn't walk a straight line. I would go forward, get off balance, and go backward. I couldn't even avoid the puddles that seemed to surround me.

Now usually, at that time of day, I see nobody in this lane where I am trying to walk; but, on this day, there is a guy loading a half-ton truck. He sees me staggering around, like a serious alcoholic and pretends not to see me, Every so often he is compelled to look. I get up to the truck and he gives that "look" that people give to drunks. I tell him I have parkinson's. He introduces himself and asks if he can drive me anywhere. I tell him I live about 5 houses away and apologize to him because I feel that if I stop to chat, I will not get moving again. I leave, weaving from side to side, and struggle up the lane. By the time I reach my back yard, I am having trouble remaining erect. I try to steady myself against my wife's car. I turn and, wouldn't you know it, a man and a woman are there walking their dog. They give me that "look", so I tell them I have parkinson's in case they thought I was drunk. "Oh, OK," the man says and his wife utters a nervous laugh. I open the gate. I have about 10 meters to go, but I am really rocky, so I sit on the garage steps to recover. I sit there a few minutes and then stand up. I head toward our wooden deck which has 2 levels. The first level is about 8 inches off the ground. I try to put my foot on it, but it might as well be Mt. Everest. I almost fall backward. I sit on the ground for a moment and then crawl the rest of the way. I immediately take my drugs but in doing so, I realize I have missed yesterday evening's dose. 12 hours without medication!

Today, I feel OK.

Tomorrow I will feel better.

I will never miss another dose.

I just looked at the clock. I am an hour late for my afternoon dose.

So long.