Tuesday, November 9
The left ankle was terribly painful to walk on all morning, I otherwise felt pretty good. A friend graciously agreed to read Janice’s instructions for yin tui na, and to apply them to that foot, and she gave me a session this afternoon. At some point about halfway through I became so relaxed that I thought, “that’s it, the Parkinson’s is gone”, and I remained in that state until we both realized together that the session was over, at which point the tension flooded back. The session seemed for both of us to have lasted ten minutes, but when we checked the time it had gone an hour.
Rain threatened, so Roman, Yuri, and I took the evening walk in the garage next door. At some point, Roman began telling me to walk like a rooster. That was fun and led to my doing a version of Capitano Spavento from la commedia dell’arte. That was a lot of fun, and morphed into the strut of an old time blues singer (which made walking easier) and led to my singing a jazzy Summertime. Roman was thereby inspired to sing a Ukrainian folksong (which made me tear up a tad) and I finished with Amazing Grace. I was still limping and shuffling and in pain, but I’ve not walked so enjoyably in years.
Wednesday, November 10
Slept in tiny chunks all night, got maybe a total of four disjointed hours of sleep.
We walked the sagrato, that too was at a level I thought I’d passed at least two months ago. The ankles (mostly left) were very sore, I shuffled, posture was hard to maintain.
Had a snack with my wonderful friend Lisa, and managed somehow to stay awake. I dozed for maybe five minutes before lunch, and 30 minutes after, before the legs started twitching and I had to give up.
Another wonderful friend, Nan, stopped by, and after I garlanded her with complaints, her visit cheered me up. Our evening walk was in the garage, and I’ve done worse, but it was still at a level below my first attempt at walking there almost a year ago. We sang a little which kept us from crashing – or I should say kept me from crashing.
Thursday, November 11
A really sore left ankle coupled with side effects from NyQuil that I took last night to dull a sinus headache, made walking the sagrato impossible this morning. I tried, but the pain told other muscles to shut down.
By mid-afternoon the ankle pain had lessened, but walking around the apartment remained difficult.
Shiatsu was wonderful. I noticed towards the end that all the usual suspects for tension had relaxed. I was filled with hope, but the instant that Michele stopped working, the tension flowed back. There is insight in that, I just don’t know what it is.
The evening walk didn’t hold a candle to my embodiment of a Roman braggadocio of only two days ago (in fact it was hard to believe so little time lay between the two) or even of my regular walk of a week or so ago, but at least I got through a noisy, limping, and uneven eight laps and never needed to stop for misery checks.
Friday, November 12
I slept well save for an hour after 01:45 when I had to pace in order to reset my body’s comfort gauge. And turning in bed, even under a light cover, has become a regular and doable thing, so the variety of positions I can sleep in has also increased considerably.
Walking this morning was another thing entirely. Two laps, lots of pain in my left foot, exhausted pauses, noisy shuffling, and frustrated mumblings of mamma mia.
Candace did nother yin tui na session this afternoon. She says the foot was quieter today than on Tuesday. What may come of these sessions is unsure, but so it is with everything. The adventure continues.
Roman leaves on Sunday for six weeks in Ukraine. He and Maria are, as it turns out, heading to a homeland on the verge of a possible crisis. I dearly hope they will be safe.
My voice has mostly been strong this week (witness the singing) and word formation has posed no problems. At times last night there seemed to be an increase in production of saliva, but – if I can really tell the difference – it was not due to a defective swallowing reflex.
But the sudden difficulties in walking are worrying. Friends have commented on how strange it was to be doing so much better in that way barely a week ago. Michele attributes that to natural cycles while the brain solidifies what it learned. Could be. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few days.
This evening’s walk was a close copy of yesterday evening’s, which is not especially satisfying, but better than a repeat of the last two mornings.
Saturday, November 13
I seem to have hit a pattern as this morning’s attempt to walk failed at one lap. The good news is that it didn’t upset me.
I asked Janice about the twitching that Candace feels while doing yin tui na on my foot, and she replied they are releases and are a very good sign. She has had patients resolve their Parkinson’s symptoms through treatment of a foot injury. (If you want more detail on that visit pdRecovery.org and download the free book, Yin Tui Na – very interesting stuff.)
I slept well last night (only had to get up to pace, once) but had a hard time rising which is unusual for me. Then we wheeled to the Duomo, I tried to walk, failed, wheeled back home, and I napped for an hour. All my therapists say that the rapid improvements of up to a week or ten days ago, plus the brain changes happening because of yin tui na, require extra rest, and that feels like an accurate assessment. Then as if to drive the point home, I napped another hour and a half after lunch, and it was not optional.
The evening stroll on the sagrato followed the recent pattern; eight (painful) laps of medium quality.
Sunday, November 14
This morning’s laps were five, and with a very sore ankle. That is, I guess, an improvement, but I can’t help but remember that a noisy five laps with rests in the wheelchair was a triumph in early September, so I find it discouraging.
However, I napped well yesterday, slept well last night, and napped well again today, so maybe there is something to the tired brain theory. This tendency towards sleep is accompanied by an indescribable internal sensation that used to bother me, but now seems like the yawn of deep recovery. We shall see.
Also, I’ve been on and off extremely limp this past week or so.
It’s drizzling this evening, but we took a chance and went to the Duomo. After a lap, it became obvious that the pavement was too slippery for me to get comfortable, Yuri hadn’t brought the key to the garage, so we came home. The ankle I don’t think will suffer much from the rest.
Monday, November 15
I’ve had a couple of MRI’s on my left foot before where I stuck my foot in a box and chatted with the tech for twenty minutes. I guess today was the (incredibly noisy) real thing. Nevertheless, I was able to nap through most of it. Results are available online in a week.
I slept well overnight despite yesterday’s frequent naps, and got up this morning reluctantly. And I don’t know if it’s the yin tui na, or what, but the last few days I have felt vastly better. Symptoms are largely in place, but some underlying condition has shifted for the good, at least for now. The only thing I can come up with as a reliable example of an improved symptom is that lately I can put on and take off my knit jacket without it seeming that I’m violating the laws of physics. I’ve not had that ability for at least a year and a half.
By the way, there have been periods of upper body pins and needles all week, often intense, lasting five minutes maximum.
The evening walk, while painful, was back on track; eight kitty-approved laps.