Dart introduced today's speaker, our very own Rick Manson.

Rick spoke, with the assistance of Cathy, about his journey living with Parkinsons disease. Rick was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 7 years ago and described his experience as “life in slow motion.” 
Initially, his early symptoms were slight tremors in his hands and numbness in his feet. He also noticed a softening of his voice. It was hard to tell at first if these were just signs of getting older or something else. He would experience some good days and some frustrating days as he dealt with questions about what this all meant for the rest of his life.  He told us that now it takes him about four times longer to do common chores than before.
Rick said that often we don’t appreciate things like independence until we lose it. He has learned that it is important to stay active, pay attention to his body and don't stop doing things but change the way you do them.  Sometimes you just have to slow down and learn to accept help from others. 
Rick said that the disease is not just physical, there is an emotional side as well. You can’t focus on what has been taken away from you but, instead, focus on what you can still do. You don’t get to choose your circumstances in life, but you do choose how you respond to them. Rick does participate in a Parkinson’s support group at BMH and finds them very helpful.

 

Stephen Stearns closed the meeting with a song “Today”

 

Scribe: 
Phil George