Welcome to Parkinson's? Oh my!!

Things we use 3.
‘What, more things we use; when are we getting to the juicy stuff?” Some readers may ask. I’ve been thinking about dependence, but that may be too much. Do you have any thoughts about that? I’m slowly discovering that I have very strong feelings about that.

Hello all: carrying on my blog. I thought I would spend one more blog talking about things that can make our lives easier and sometimes possible.. Before I do that, I just want to give a shout-out to Jennifer Robinson’s website that includes so many devices, it makes your head spin. All nicely broken down into categories such as bath, bed, recreation, etc. I hope you can just click on the address and go there. www.helpmedevices.com

Today 4 small items and 3 not so small ones.

iPhone
First off an actual electronic item: an iPhone. I’m sure androids and other platforms will work just as well. Of course these smart phones and their apps can do all kinds of different things including surfing the Internet, keeping your health information and finding your way to unfamiliar places. For my Parkinson’s I rely on my iPhone to tell me when to take my levodopa. At the moment 2 hours apart, at least during the day. Without the phone alarm, I would more often get into unnecessary off periods. The better I feel, the more likely I am to wait too long but the phone has no mercy and will tell you to take your medicine. Of course you can override this but why bother.

Pill bottles
With diminished fine motor control I found it increasingly difficult to open the childproof bottles and guess what, we have no children, especially little children, at home. So the pharmacist started giving us the easy-open bottles. Nice and easy until the day I put several in a travel case and by the time we reached our destination, my pills were thoroughly mixed, quite a party. Lol. For those times a screw-top is wonderful and I’m sure your pharmacy would gladly accommodate you, or perhaps you have some “empties” laying around.Just think ahead, not always an easy task for a parky.

Shoe horn
I am just putting this on the list to represent the many items available for all of us. Getting the long shoehorn works a lot better than the short one, once you can’t get down to shoe level.

Toilet extender
I was going to skip this, it is rather personal but then, someone might be able to use this information. Actually I don’t belief I need this for my Parkinson’s but rather for a pair of hernias I entertained for a while. It also may be more relevant for those like myself who are over 6 feet (180 cm) tall.The best part of this are the 2 sidebars you can use to get up. I don’t think I have to mention cleanliness or to pick your bathroom because not everyone needs to see it. Not that there is any shame in it; it’s just another piece of mostly plastic which functions as an assistive device.

Electric lights (no picture)
It’s not too long ago in history that nobody had electricity; I can only imagine what life was like then. I’m putting it on my list because it seems to me that with enough light I’m just incrementally more mobile than in complete or almost complete darkness. We always use a night light. Of course the sleep hygiene experts tell us no bright lights during sleep but a little bit of light is a good thing. Every bit of mobility, especially at night when I take much less levodopa, is welcome and increases safety. Sorry, no picture because there is such a wide variety available.

Ledge underneath tables
Once I began having trouble getting up from a chair, I automatically, because our bodies look for ways to adapt, reached out to the nearest table, grabbed it and discovered a ledge underneath. I would not be surprised if most people know this but somehow I missed seeing it before. It greatly helped, and still helps,

me to get up. It does not look very elegant but it works. I since discovered that most tables have such a ledge. One caution though, if you are strong, you want to be careful not to pull too hard or you might pull it over. I’m sometimes afraid I’ll rip our table from the wall to which is is fastened. I would encourage you to look under your table, if this would improve your life. Sorry, the picture is a bit dark but I’m sure you get the idea.

Man purse, also called Murse
As my fine motor skills deteriorated, I was starting to have difficulty with my wallet. Often credit and debit cards as well as coins and paper money landed on the floor. Usually some kind person picked it up for me, often total strangers. I got rid of the wallet and got a bag with 2 compartments, one zippered up and one open. It has straps so I can hang it on my shoulder, or better yet, hang it around my neck. Now I can get my hand in the bag and manipulate the contents without dropping anything. To be more precise, I still drop them but now they remain in my own murse and I can try again. The only two problems are forgetting the thing and keeping the contents organized and pruned down. It is really easy to let it fill up, and loose part of the benefits. I stand in awe of the ladies who carry purses with umpteen compartments but they know where everything is. What school did they go to to learn that? It was not the Parkinson’s Academy, I know that much. Anyhow, the murse is a big improvement. Mine came from Jamaica, but I’m sure you can find one in any town or city.

Final word about “things” for now.
I have only scratched the surface of things that can help us; just a small sample of what’s available. More and more things are developed or adapted. Keep your eyes open, the simplest and cheapest items are often the most useful.

Until next time, goodbye

Casey