2 posts tagged “women”
Amongst the many things that have lately been distracting me from blog-land is producing a DVD for patients recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The first edition of the DVD was my first official producer role four years ago, and now we are revising it with new and updated information. Two of the new sections are testimonials from family caregivers and interviews with young children of people with Parkinson's.
Carolyn is in her seventies and her husband Wayne was diagnosed with Parkinson's ten years ago. They have been married forty years and rarely have I seen someone so in obviously and honestly in love. She does not see the disease as a burden (though clearly it is), but rather as a journey they did not plan to take. Over the course of this journey they have learned a lot about themselves and one another, she has improved her physical health and lost weight, and she sees them as caring for one another, as opposed to her taking care of someone who is sick. Parkinson's Disease does not make life easier for anyone, but this woman takes the good with the bad and they live a full and relatively happy life. It's just not the one they expected.
And who can predict these things?
Betty Jane is the sixteen year old daughter of a man with PD. She has two younger siblings. Her father is on permanent disability, and she is the only person in the family who is able to work. She has a job at a grocery store and admits that some days she comes home tired and frustrated. At the same time she considers herself lucky. Unlike other kids her age, who she teases for being spoiled, she can cook meals, and knows how to care for herself. Of course, no child should have to go through that. But if there are no other options, it is much better to look to the positive side of things than to become bitter and live in despair.
Life does not always cooperate with our wishes, and these are two women who have accepted that and learned how to flourish in hardship. Hats off to Carolyn and Betty Jane.
