Chatting with my Friend Who also has Parkinson's

                 Today had it's ups and downs!  My first up was having my friend Nancy come over!  My friend Nancy, a former school librarian, came over this morning and brought me some decorations for my book club meeting.  Nancy is in my bereaved moms group.  She is such a positive upbeat person!  My first mistake of the day was that I forgot to take my Parkinson's meds.  My second mistake was that I thought I could shop at the mall with the girls without having taken my meds. My gait was way off and I felt unsteady on my feet and I was so slow.  I am normally very slow with my meds but without my meds I feel l as if I am just spinning wheels on a stationary bike. .Dan decided to come shopping with us.  So we picked up Olivia from school and went to the mall.  My legs kept freezing and I stood in place several minutes before I could walk or move!! And then every time I had to turn a corner I would freeze up again.  It is quite annoying when that happens!  Olivia got two pairs of leggings at Macys.  Then we went to lunch at the food court! It is ALWAYS about the food!
         Then we went to Marshall's and Olivia got another pair of leggings and Olya got two pair of leggings and a pair of shoes. This time I stayed in the car because I could hardly move at all.  Olya is a good shopper, she loves Marshall's and TJ Maxx!  Olivia prefers the Mall.  When they have to start paying for their own clothes, I have a feeling that Olivia will also shop at Marshall's and TJ Maxx! I hadn't planned on paying for their clothes but Dan had told them he was taking them shopping and that means he is paying!!
    My friend Dianne called me when I got home.  I haven't talked to her for quite awhile! She also has Parkinson's. I had known that but had forgotten about it.  She invited me over to her new apartment so we could chat. Her apartment is absolutely beautiful!  Everything is bright and shiny and new and beautifully decorated! She has had Parkinson's for several years and is walking without a cane!!! She told me that what helped her most was going to a boxing class for Parkinson's people.  So I am going to go and try out the class!  I will do almost anything to get rid of having to use my walker!! She goes twice a week and was able to stop using her cane after a few months!! She never progressed to having to use a walker so it make take me longer to get rid of a walker.  Dianne also told me that she has difficulty rolling over in bed.  It is the strangest thing to be able to say, hey, me too! I also have so much difficulty rolling over in bed.  Any type of movement is difficult for Parkinson's people.  In the morning, I have to actually tell myself to open my eyes when I wake up and Dianne has to do the same thing!  Dianne has a bed with a controller that moves the bed up and down, she said it is like heaven for a Parkinson's person.  I think I will buy that type bed when we move. It was so nice to chat with someone who "gets" me with this disease. I think that the worst thing for me with this disease is that my brain thinks I am going to get better.  I have never had a disease or medical issue that I didn't get better from with meds and treatment. I've had pancreatitis and got better, breast cancer and got better and lots of other insignificant medical issues. I can't get better from this but I keep hoping my condition will improve.