“IT” is like an annoying puppy that never leaves your side. The puppy is called PD. PD can either be as good as gold, not a bother at all and then for no reason at all PD decides to start nipping at your heels, jumping up at you, pulling at your pants…..just a plain old pain in the ass.
People ask me two questions….. “What’s it like living with Parkinson’s and why do you,and how do you climb mountains?”
Let me answer the “how do I climb mountains?” first…..well, one step at a time…..one arm pull/grip at a time. It is that easy and then it’s not. I do find that PD behaves better when I am climbing so, there is a positive already. Seriously ….. I do a lot of training however, no matter how much you train the mountain is the boss. I have an amazing trainer who knows that muscle strength is a must for me….PD with less oxygen (altitude) tends to deflate muscle strength very quickly. That was a major issue on my last Kili climb as well as Mt. St Helens. Altitude gets the better of even a very experienced climber. Kilimanjaro is 19345 ft, the highest I have been…lets see what Everest does to me in a few years. Mental training is as important if not more important than physical in some way. Listen to your body…..if you don’t you could die.
I climb mountains because I can…right now. PD is a progressive disease. There are very few things that I put off doing. Training to climb mountains, I believe will slow this process down and it brings me amazing peace. I love and hate the challenge however, when you get to be above the clouds it is the most peaceful experience. It is important to me that every climb is for a reason. I cannot wake up every morning if I am not doing something to bring awareness to some personal cause. I am very fortunate that I work for a company (Macy’s) who ‘s one value is Give Back. I have so much to be thankful for, it is my duty to pay it forward. I am fortunate to fight the progression of PD, that in some ways is my platform in giving back. It certainly is a means to work harder at remaining healthy and not giving up. I can assure you that some restless nights when PD decides to keep me awake all night, I beg to give up, a body that continues to move without permission is exhausting. I know this sounds really weird however, to calm my body down I purposely move……I put my headphones on and move to the music, I go for a run, I do push ups on the stairs, I swim, I move until PD decides to give up and let me have my rest. I know my co-workers have got used to me getting up and just moving. Most times people do not even recognize it however, I am pretty sure that sometimes people think…why is she so nervous she is shaking or why the hell is she moving so much….I just smile and enjoy thinking about what they are thinking.
So,….mountains are my refuge, my peaceful place and what the heck….to get to the top you have to move…suits me fine!!!! I plan to keep climbing, the higher the better. I will at some stage blog my weekly workout sessions….you should enjoy them, I do.
PD is relentless…..I will win as long as I can, I will climb as long as I can, I will take the memory of the 49 with me as long as I can…they deserve it.
Climb.4.49. #neverforget.
#Orlandostrong