A Change of Perspective

Do you ever wonder how people see you? I recently had the opportunity to have that question answered.

A Parkinson’s support group invited me to speak at their meeting. I would have had to travel and traveling makes me uneasy. Rigidity and slow movements are the result. It was difficult to say “no.” But being good to myself had to come first.

As I thought about the meeting, it occurred to me that I could do the next best thing: I could record my presentation. I filmed a few minutes at a time; it wasn’t possible to speak off-the-cuff for the length of the film because I’d draw a blank and forget what to say.

The film took some maneuvering of my makeshift tripod, but I did it. It was important for me to do this entire project to show others and me that I could do it. It was fun yet sobering.

As I reviewed my film, I saw my dyskinesia. I’m always aware of it, but not how pronounced it appears. Some frames of the film are quite good as far as the dyskinesia goes. Other frames make me want to hand out Dramamine for people prone to motion sickness.

Making this film opened my eyes to what others see. It made me see something else. People look far beyond the physical me and see what is inside me. This is just one more reason to stay in the mainstream of life. Parkinson’s does not have to keep you behind closed doors.