PARKINSON'S and THE SPEECH Therapist

        Today, July 17th is Olivia's 22nd birthday. Where did the time go?  We adopted her at age 9 and now she is 22!  What an adventure our lives became after adopting her!!!
         Yesterday I had speech therapy in the afternoon. I am in the LOUD program. I feel like I have to shout to get to the decibels that my speech therapist wants me to be at. I think my voice has gotten softer because people have asked me 'WHAT" recently.  So I have to make an effort to speak up but when I do, I feel like I am shouting or really  loud!!! Renee came over and took me out to lunch. Renee had to help me get up from the chair. I couldn't even get up when she was holding the table still!   The waiter asked me "what" when I was ordering. I am just starting to notice that my voice must be a little quieter or softer than before. I spent most of the day practicing my speech lessons and then baking a cake for Olivia. After I baked the cake, I took it out of the oven to put on the cooling rack!  The chocolate cake smelled heavenly!!!! I used a sugar free white cake mix and I added two teaspoons of cocoa powder,  and I used applesauce instead of oil, and egg whites instead of whole eggs.  As I was lifting the cake from the oven, my gait froze and the cake sort of fell onto the rack and partially split in two places. Thank goodness for icing!! Icing covers a host of baking errors!!  Dan came out into the kitchen and said  "I really want a piece of cake." I told him that wasn't happening but he could make a cake himself  if he wanted!! He didn't eat cake last night!
        I have never been able to fall asleep sitting up.  Since I have been diagnosed with Parkinson's I can sleep anywhere any time!! I have fallen asleep sitting up in my computer chair, sitting up on the couch and of course, lying down on the couch!!!!
      Last year I kept buying bunches of costume jewelry at flea markets, garage sales and Goodwill stores so Olivia could decorate her GLAM room.  One ring fell onto the floor when she was hanging jewelry and  she didn't want it.  The other day I found it in a drawer and looked inside it.  The ring has 14K marked on the inside of the ring so it must be white gold!!I am wondering if the stone is a real diamond. That would be crazy!!  If it is real,I will be shocked!!
        We let Olivia open her presents last night because she has  to work late tomorrow night and Olya has to be at work at 6 am! We bought her two rompers, a few tops and two pairs of black leggings.  Dan also got her a $50 gift card to Ulta.  I also bought some Dallas Cowboys cups, a Cowboys bracelet and  a  Cowboy's necklace.  She is a Cowboys fan
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's Disease

Image
       My Parkinson's symptoms seem to be different almost everyday. Some days I am dog tired and other days I seem to have some energy.  It is difficult to make plans too far in advance because I never know what my Parkinson's will be like on any given day.  My worst Parkinson's symptoms are being off balance and overwhelmingly sleepy!!  I don't know if it is a Parkinson's symptom or  not but I now have such vivid and bizarre dreams! Perhaps it is the liquid medical marijuana that I take at night to help me sleep!! My sciatica,  however, seems to stay the same. It is just pain all of the time unless I take Tylenol or a muscle relaxer. I have spoken to several people who have Parkinson's and many also have sciatica. I asked the doc this morning and he said there is no corelation.   Today I saw a new neurologist at a city hospital.  He diagnosed me with Akinetic-rigid Parkinson's.  He told me that there are two different types of Parkinson's diseas
Read more

Does My Family Really Understand My PD LIMITATIONS??

Image
        I was diagnosed with PD about a year and a half ago but I think I had it for close to a year before that. Once I got on the Carbidopa Leodopa, my life settled back into a "new normal" routine.   My painful Sciatica has always bothered me more than the PD. I don't have tremors, at least not yet. I think that is because I am in the early stages. I have a handicap license plate so I don't have to park as far away from an entrance as I use to have to park.  My husband is always willing to drop me off at the entrance if I don't want to walk as far.  But I try to do the walk so that I stay agile and my muscles don't freeze up too much.   My most noticeable trait is my slow, and shuffling gait.  I can still drive, totally take care of all of my personal needs, go out socially, travel, cook, etc.  I am scared when I have to go up a flight of stairs because I am off balance and I feel like I might fall backwards. I have a death grip on the handrail!  I am not a
Read more

June 2

Image
                June 2 is a very special day in our family.  It was the day that my beloved daughter Amy was born. I was so excited to have a beautiful little girl.  She was my most precious gift and that feeling has never changed.   Amy died at age 18.  After her death, life had no meaning for  us.  We just wen through the motions of living and existing because we still had to finish raising Renee, who was only 13 when Amy died. Dan had told me that friends of his, also bereaved parents, had adopted a little boy from Ukraine. I thought they were absolutely crazy.  Fast forward a few years and that tiny seed grew in my mind. Maybe it was Divine Intervention, I don't know,  but we decided to adopt from Ukraine.  I am so thankful to Ukraine for giving me two of their most precious gifts.  We must have been twice as crazy as his friends because we adopted not once, but TWICE!! We adopted Olivia in March of 2007.  There is so much paperwork to adopt and we had to make several trips
Read more