PT was Going to Discharge Me Because I was doing so well but NOT anymore!!

         I saw my PT last week and I felt so good.   She started teaching me some of the Parkinson's BIG Program exercises. We were both shocked that I could do them without much pain.  She was going to release me from the PT program and then we would start the BIG program which is four consecutive days a week for a month.  She came this afternoon.  Now that I have regressed with so much pain and I am so dependent on my walker again, she can't start the BIG program.  I feel like I have failed myself!! I have tried to do my PT exercises but I have not been able to do them for the past few days due to pain.  Pain is now the BIG BOSS of my body! She also told me that there is pain with Parkinson's.  I didn't know that.  All day I kept falling forward and having to brace myself. In the middle of the night when I got up to go to the bathroom, I had to use my walker.  When I went back to bed, I had a difficult time trying to climb back into my bed.  I kept sliding down the side of my bed.  That was a new experience that never happened before! It is so annoying to try to do simple things that you are trying to tell your brain to do but they don't work out correctly!
          Renee, my older daughter, took Olya out to celebrate her 21st birthday tonight. She had to work on Sat., the day of Olya's party.  And Renee had to work on Sun. when we went out to dinner to celebrate Olya's birthday! Renee works in an ER so she often has to work on weekends.

They went out to dinner and to a few bars in town. Olya was UPSET that she didn't get carded at every place they went.  Olya is tall and when she wears make-up, she definitely looks 21!!!  She looked 21 when she was 18 and wore make-up.  Adam met them when they went to a bar near where he works!
       Yesterday I printed out copies of an article I found about journaling and thankfulness.  The article reported that being thankful actually makes you feel happier Neuroscience studies reveal that being thankful and showing gratitude actually transforms your brain into being happier. .  We were going to discuss the article last night at the bereaved parent meeting but we didn't have enough time because the balloon release took a long time.  I started reading some of my blog journals from last year about being thankful for something every day for a  year.  I selected some of the blogs to take to read to the group.  Some were serious, some were funny, some were just informational.  I wrote about being thankful for my friend Debbie, who is also a bereaved mom, and always makes me laugh!  I wrote about being thankful that my two daughters were adopted and how every child deserves a loving family.  I also wrote about clumps of my hair falling out after using a new conditioner chosen by my daughter Olivia, the cosmetologist and being thankful that it didn't ALL fall out! I wrote about being thankful that Dan and I received a thank you note from the person who was awarded the Amy Marie  scholarship from Penn State University. Our attorney donated his fees to start the fund.   There is always something to be thankful for.

Three simple steps to becoming more grateful

Here are three practical steps you can take to infusing routines of gratitude into your life.

1) Keep a daily journal of three things you are thankful for. This works well first thing in the morning, or just before you go to bed.

2) Make it a practice to tell a spouse, partner or friend something you appreciate about them every day.

3) Look in the mirror when you are brushing your teeth, and think about something you have done well recently or something you like about yourself.

Neuroscience reveals how gratitude literally rewires your brain to be happier

We often hear about the power of gratitude for creating a more positive and happy mental state. But did you know that gratitude literally transforms your brain?

According to UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, regularly expressing gratitude literally changes the molecular structure of the brain, keeps the gray matter functioning, and makes us healthier and happier.

When you feel happiness, the central nervous system is affected. You are more peaceful, less reactive, and less resistant. And gratitude is the most effective practice for stimulating feelings of happiness.

In one study of gratitude, conducted by Robert A. Emmons at the University of California at Davis and his colleague Mike McCullough at the University of Miami, randomly assigned participants were given one of three tasks. The participants kept a journal each week, with one group describing things they were grateful for, another describing what’s hassling them and the other keeping track of neutral events. After ten weeks, the participants in the gratitude group felt 25 percent better than the other groups, and had exercised an average of 1.5 hours more.

In a later study by Emmons with a similar set up, participants completing gratitude exercises each day offered other people in their lives more emotional support than tAnother study on gratitude was conducted with adults suffering from congenital and adult-onset neuromuscular disorders (NMDs), with the majority of people having post-polio syndrome (PPS). Compared to those not jotting down what they’re grateful for every night, participants that did express gratitude felt more refreshed each day upon wakening. They also felt more connected with others than did participants in the group not expressing gratitude.

A fourth study didn’t require a gratitude journal, but looked at the amount of gratitude people showed in their daily lives. In this study, a group of Chinese researchers found that higher levels of gratitude were associated with better sleep, and also with lower levels of anxiety and depression.

Better sleep, with less anxiety and depression. Some compelling reasons to express gratitude more regularly.