Tuesday, May 10
I slept well, but walking the circuit around Torre del Moro was a struggle. Nevertheless, we did two turns, and half of that was unassisted. The weather is perfect and I have wanted to walk normally all afternoon. There is not even the hint of an urge to nap.
The evening stroll was no better or worse, but at least I held my own. We stopped at Blue Bar afterwards. The cough decided to return just as there were lots of lovely people to talk to, which was disappointing.
The focaccia, half of which I ate at Blue Bar with only a hint of a drippy nose, was finished at home followed by a bucket of snot, sneezes, and exaggerated coughing. I coughed through a conversation on the phone with Gina, who I adore, my body squirming with discomfort. It wasn’t a bad day, but I’m hoping for a simpler tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 11
We walked nearly a kilometer around Torre del Moro, and half of that was unassisted. Then I lunched with my friend Cheryl at Enoteca al Duomo. By the time I got home at 14:00, I was destroyed. I slept until my Alexander lesson at 15:30 when I presented Monika with a pretzel of a tired body which she set about trying to relax and, to a large degree, succeeded. Then we did another half kilometer at the Duomo, and had a dozen street-met conversations on the way home (plus a delicious salted caramel gelato). It was a fine day interspersed with periods of abject desperation.
Thursday, May 12
Walking was difficult and noisy at the Duomo this morning, though I managed to shuffle half of it without holding onto Roman. Lunch was difficult to deliver to my mouth (no tremor, just slow coordination) and then I slept 90 minutes in the recliner; but without restless leg syndrome, and only the slightest moment of stiffness and trembling when I finally woke.
Then after an afternoon of benign discouragement, Natalia took me to Torre del Moro where I did three completely unassisted turns around the “block”. That was more than I’ve been capable of in a year and a half, and the most in two years without medication.
One of the greatest challenges is to accept that all improvements are not going to arrive all together and all at once, nor will they necessarily stick around for very long before taking a vacation. Cherish the little things, like being able to put my pants on all the way, and without trembling; a change that also seems to be lasting.
Friday, May 13
We did two circles around La Torre this morning, unassisted. There were lots of people out, so I returned home content but tired.
I slept some.
The evening walk was on the sagrato, not easy but unassisted. Then we wheeled around, meeting people, while my spinach pizza rustica was being prepared. I returned home utterly spent and uncomfortable, and so I remained all evening.
Saturday, May 14
Sleep was made difficult by a deep discomfort and an internal heat. Indoor temperature was a pleasant 21 degrees, but after an initial sleep of 90 minutes, every attempt even at lying in bed was met with a feeling of suffocating warmth.
That was accompanied by a strong poverty of movement, and walking was not only stiff and slow but felt theoretically impossible (typing, however, was mostly fluid).
I slept around four until Roman woke me at nine. We walked the sagrato, frequently dodging tourists, but I managed to complete five laps and 90% of that was unassisted. I lay in the recliner after lunch to meditate and listen to “heart” music. When I came to, about twenty minutes later, I was in a puddle of white light, which couldn’t be a bad thing.
The rest of the afternoon I wanted nothing so much as to take a walk on my own. Oh, well. At least a strong desire is next best to imagining, and imagining a thing can train the brain to make it real.
By three-thirty I could not sit still, so I paced the hall for thirty minutes, paying special attention to keeping my strides as long and stable as possible.
This evening, an unassisted walk from Gonzaga to Giovenale and back. The first few steps were good; right arm loose and swinging, stride strong and stable. Then I stopped feeling safe and the arm twisted into a gnarled root. It was welcome relief to be out and moving, but I returned home feeling shaky, tight, and empty. A very short rest didn’t help. Some time and a smoothie, did.
Sunday, May 15
I woke after a sound sleep feeling loose and relaxed. We hit the streets early, before the crowds and heat, and I walked three times around La Torre, completely without assistance, stopping to hold onto a poll now and then to straighten my posture. After those three laps, we walked to Bar Brozzi for morning refreshment (a spremuta for me, caffe for Natalia), again without assistance. While there, the crowds thickened, so walking back to La Torre was more difficult, but I made it.
Both Natalia and Roman are always reminding me to stand straight. Today, I told Natalia that the disease makes me hunched, and that there was little I could do about it. “No! It’s a habit!” she said, “The whole disease is a habit of the brain! Make new and better habits.”
Otherwise, typing and dexterity are not great. And the recovery symptom of sleeping a lot has given way to sleeping more normally. I paced the hall a lot this afternoon; sitting still was difficult.
This evening we did three circuits of Torre del Moro, then walked down Corso to Cassa di Risparmia. Every so often my gait would normalize for ten or fifteen meters. Huzzah!
Monday, May 16
I lost a couple hours sleep last night hassling with temperatures. That kept me busy until seven, and when Roman woke me at nine, I was so sleepy I could barely move. A dental appointment at eleven meant shortening the morning walk to once around La Torre, and as I was only half awake, it was hardly representative of my best form.
The right leg, by the way, is still a little sensitive to touch, but the swelling is down and remaining bruises are light – almost gone. Also by the way, my appetite which has announced itself through low energy rather than direct perception of hunger, is roaring back.
The evening walk was difficult and exhausting, and I hung onto Roman like my life depended on it.