Brain Surfing…
Read an interesting article by a Psychologist with Parkinson’s. He said the disease was “like PAC man” in that it ate up all of the time he had in the day with appointments, treatments and just putting up with symptoms. He just couldn’t get any “traction.”
Boy do I so GET that
So what are you supposed to do? A way through presented itself. I had to “surf” and adjust when schedules get overturned and do something appropriate to what’s happening then. For instance if I couldn’t draw because of the tremors, do an online tutorial or READ about Graphic Design and Illustration or look for fresh ideas.
When the meds finally DO kick in:
- I have to be patient and work slower.
- I don’t have to struggle for hours and do perfect line work.
- I was and still am very FAST at all this stuff. I’ve got lots of time.
- I need to clock out of the “timeclock” mentality and be happy in the bits and pieces I CAN do even if the day is going south.
In summary I have to “flexible” like that brain on a surfboard and adjust on the fly, looking out for what to draw.
An old friend told me once that I was very good at handling chaos, so when things go “wrong” I just need to adjust (COWABUNGA I AM THE KING OF CHAOS!)
“And me, I coulda’ been a Contender!”
Checking out “Rock Steady” tonight! Basically it’s non-contact training like a professional boxer to help with Parkinson’s symptoms.
The Double Whammy!
One of the situations that develop with Parkinson’s is constipation. Couple that with insomnia and extreme daytime sleepiness and you get the idea. You can’t sleep because of the constipation (even though you DEARLY want too!)
Back again with a vengeance!
The Dopamine Chronicles has been “sleeping on the job” for a while. But since I just retired (from teaching NOT art!) I’ve discovered I need to fire up my public service gland and continue to blog (cartoon) about Parkinson’s. Offering of the day: Sarah King and invigoratept.com
GREAT exercise program! (note the walking poles on the brain) but possibly MORE important it gets you out of the valley of FEAR. It also inspires you to set up goals, in my case one goal was to get back in the groove of “tooning” about Parkinson’s.
Vulture Mode…
One of the hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s is the “stooped shoulders” mode. You sort of look like a vulture waiting for something to die. David Zid in his DVD series “Delay the Disease” has a number of stretches and exercises to alleviate this. Then I remember my PT at West Cal Cam telling me to “throw those shoulders back, Mr. Marty!”
Smoking Turkey
I have noticed that stiffness and spasms make drawing difficult early in the day. But by evening things have warmed up and loosened up. The cross hatching works much more smoothly. I also think the drugs have leveled off in my system. So I draw at night!
The Rats Got It Good!
In a discussion I had with my neuro, he told me there’s bunch of new meds on the horizon for Parkinson’s but they’ve only tested them on rats. I said “The rats got it good!” So I thought about how they might test the “caffeine/nicotine” idea that coffee and nicotine staves off Parkinson’s. Did they give the mice tiny cups of coffee and teeny weeny cigarettes?
