reactions can be kind or curt

If you have Parkinson's disease, you find you can bring the best and the worst out in people. All it takes is a walk down a city street.

 Most people are polite and kind when confronted with a writhing, quivering person teetering to keep balance on the sidewalk ahead. Doors are opened for you. People slow down to your pace. Some even make the effort to smile.

 Others, mostly kids but some adults, stare.  Some brush by you in a hurry, just about knocking you off your feet. Then there are those store clerks and customers in line behind you who sigh loudly while you, mumbling apologies, struggle with unco-operative digits to pull cash from your wallet at the check-out.

Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy, and you may learn something, I think, as I complete my business and wobble out the door. Thanks for the sensitive, caring response to my disabilities. You know, I spend most of my waking hours plotting these delays to your all-important VIP life. Excuse me!

Some people are overcome with pity for your plight and while they mean well, they make you feel uncomfortable. Sort of like that aunt who used to hug you too much when you were a kid.

I always try to answer questions people have about PD with honesty. Yes, sometimes now I need my wife to cut my food up when we`re eating. My grip is weak due to peripheral neuropathy, damage to the nerves in my hands. It's a condition that may be the result of my constant efforts to still my shaking head by leaning forward on my elbows. The condition can also be a side effect of the drugs taken to cope with  PD. Next question.

The people I like the most are those who treat you with the same respect and dignity as anyone else. They make you feel comfortable and at ease. They look beyond the damaged shell of your body and connect with the real you. They make allowances for your condition, perhaps quietly ensuring your meeting place is easily accessible, or offering to carry something for you if you're struggling.  

Humor is welcome, too. I was telling one of my doctors how people confronted with my head bobbing and weaving often unconsciously mimic my behaviour. "Boy, you could really mess with some people, think about it," he said.

All I want is to be treated as normally as possible, without a big fuss and yet some consideration of my limitations.

That`s why education about PD is so important. Knowledge leads to understanding. And the more allies we have, the better off we are.

And that's why I admire the efforts of people active in the provincial and national associations  who assist people with PD and raise funds, and those individuals who have drawn attention and research dollars to our cause. 

Let me know what you think.