Toot Toot!

 

There are not many moments that I like to toot my own horn…. Well except the Bakken Invitation Award… that is global…. entirely worthy of a toot! But usually, I like to share any good news with close friends and family; those that really understand the importance of when I have done something remarkable.  But today, I had a moment that made me feel like the bee’s knees… such a weird expression!  Has anyone really seen a bee’s kneecaps? Digressing…

Today I was working in my office.  For those that don’t know, I work at a Movement Disorder Clinic for the marvelous Neurologist…Dr. Kenneth Martinez.  One of my many Parkinson’s duties is meeting with those that are newly diagnosed, or those challenged by the disease.  This has given me the mind-blowing opportunity to be in the “trenches” with the PD community.  Not only can I help, but also I can absolutely relate.

I walked into my office to find a man sitting in front of a fan who could barely sit still due to an extreme tremor.  With all of his muscles tense, you can see the pain in his face.  He was considering going through Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery and seeing as I had done this procedure in 2010, it was recommended that he come chat with me.  He words were restricted and difficult to understand.  He came in with a wheel chair and a caregiver by his side.  Although he was physically not alone, you could see through his sweating and stuttering that he was going through his own personal hell.

The only thing I could focus on was making his pain go away.  I knew that the Doctor’s office can be overwhelming for us Parkies and he was not in the best physical state, so I thought of what would help me…  I needed to quiet his mind and his environment.  I asked him, “Can I try something that might help you?”  He responded, “Please…. help me.”  I gently closed my office door so I could limit the amount of medical staff bustling around.  I dimmed the lights and walked over to the chair that he was sitting on.  I placed my hand on his shoulder and asked him to close his eyes.  I encouraged him to start taking deep breaths, “In through your nose… and out through your mouth” I said in a calm voice.

One thing that helps me when I am having a difficult time, is an activity called “Progressive Muscle Relaxation”.  So starting with his feet, we tensed and flexed our toes as hard as we could for 5 seconds, then gently relaxed those muscles.  I walked him through ever muscle group from his tootsies all the way to the top of his head, slowly tensing, and then letting go, while focusing on slowing down his breathing.  After about 15 minutes of guiding him through relaxation, I see his tense muscles start to slowly give.  His shoulders drop, and his arms lower to his side.  His shallow, labored breath, gave way to deep controlled inhalations.  He gradually opened his eyes, flashed a huge smile and said, “Thank you.”

He stood up out of his chair and hugged me.  He said, “The deep breaths helped.”  I responded, “And having a cute red-head rub your shoulders probably didn’t hurt either.”  He laughed and walked out of my office.  Trailing behind him was his caregiver, who was pushing the empty wheelchair that he came in on.  Toot Toot!