Day 9
Yesterday's boxing session was challenging and educational.
Thankfully, I wasn't the youngest person there - then again, that was rather sad. It is sad to think of how many people are disabled by this disease at a young age.
I saw what can happen in stage 3 and 4. It made me more determined to fight. If I ever reach those stages, it will be according to God's will, not because I wasn't tough.
I was caught off guard when the man walking in front of me suddenly stopped, while his body continued forward. Thankfully, he was caught by the people in front of him. The next time this happened, I was ready and caught him before he fell. His body knew where it wanted to go, and was being moved in the correct direction, but his feet simply couldn't move. His feet were frozen.
In the group circle, a kind man caught the ball we were passing around. Then he was stuck. He couldn't speak. He was frozen in place, holding the ball, unable to accomplish what he wanted to do.
One of my appointed exercise partners was unable to raise her voice above a whisper. However, she could hear what I could not. She grabbed my arm to let me know that the activity had changed.
We each have our own unique Parkinson's but we can support each other through it. In this life, everyone has his or her own personalized burdens to bear but together we can make it a bit easier to carry those burdens.
Speaking of burdens, the exercise was a lot more difficult than I expected! Man, am I sore! Feels great but any more soreness and I'd be down and out.
The warmup consisted of big step walking around an indoor track, interspersed with squats, lunges, balancing, and wall pushups. The warmup itself was a complete workout!
Then we did core exercises, and triceps exercises before moving to the punching bag. There, we did a round of punches followed by more squats, lunges, and wall pushups! Did another round of punching followed by even more squats, lunges, and wall pushups!
Every muscle in my body is screaming, even my glutes!
Next, we tossed around a weighted ball as we worked on cognitive skills.
In short, an excellent work out!
Watching these older individuals and people who are really struggling with Parkinson's impressed me with the sense that Parkinson's engenders courage. Unlike some diseases, which are terrible but may have a possibility of cure, neurological disorders like Parkinson's defy cure. But this lack of cure does not necessarily result in hopelessness. I guess it is a matter of making a choice. Does one curl up in surrender or does one fight for one's life?
This morning, I struggled to put on my socks - the result of shaking fingers and painful hands, coupled with tight socks. Reminder to self - socks are not necessary. Neither is shaving. OUCH!
At the gym, I didn't do a full workout. I was simply to sore from yesterday. Fighting for life does not mean fighting oneself into an early grave! So, after a warmup, John and I tossed a tennis ball back and forth for a while. I did ten incline pullups and then did HIIT for fifteen minutes on the recline bike. That pretty much did me in. But John was still finishing, so I walked for six minutes to pass the time.
I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't do more, but I did what I could, and that is enough.
At home, John and I tossed a racket ball around and played scrabble. It rained, so it was too muddy for a walk.
I finished writing up a reading for Friday's online meeting Then I talked with my daughter about homeschooling and prosthetics. Earlier, I picked up two pairs of light weight workout pants at the store. Tonight, I think I'll check out a couple episodes of Movers and Shakers, an audio blog from the UK about Parkinson's. It's quite entertaining and insightful. I might listen to another chapter of Fox's autobiography.
All-in-all, a nice day.