Just Me...The Journey: Vacationing with PD

Well, this is the first time we've taken a true, all-out, full-blown vacation since I've been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, and I think I was expecting it to be just like all our previous vacations -- chock full of activity and fun. I think I was expecting to suddenly switch into "normal," non-PD person mode, once I stepped out of the stress of work and the disciplines of everyday life.

But I didn't.

PD followed me all the way from Indiana to Colorado to Utah. It followed me every mile we traveled on Amtrak, and it kept me from sleeping in our Amtrak sleeper berth. It made me use the cane I just purchased when we walked the sandy path to the overlooks in Arches National Park. It made me too tired to get out of the car at some of our scenic overlooks.

I honestly thought that when the stress of work melted away, I would become a new person and the PD would fall away with the stress.

This vacation was planned around our 25th anniversary, and I was disappointed that my husband still had to be a caregiver, and that I still needed care. Every day when I woke up, I thought that day would be the day I caught up on my rest and started feeling good. I mean, if vacation and rest can't give you a new lease on life, what can? I wanted us both to get a break from this disease, but we didn't. On the upside, what we did get was a week of sweet together time, relaxation, a break from work, and an opportunity to see God's spectacular sense of artistry at its best.

Lessons learned? PD will not be ignored. It will not be minimized or de-emphasized. It does not take a vacation when I take a vacation. It's insistent, ever present, and demanding.

Here's what I will do differently in the future:
1. I won't schedule activities on every day of vacation. Some days will be set aside for resting and catching my breath.
2. I will make provision for sleeping at night. Maybe I will bring sleepytime tea or some other remedy, but I will have a plan for sleeping.
3. I'll pack lighter. I'm not able to carry as much as I used to, and it's too much for my husband to handle it all alone.
4. I'll ask for help more insistently at the train station in Chicago. If you don't yell, you won't be heard. I paid the price for not asking for help during the 2 days following the ordeal at Union Station. We didn't know where we were supposed to go to pick up luggage from the baggage claim, or where to board our next train, or how to find a "Red Cap" to shuttle us and all our bags to and from the train. Now we know. But I lost 2 days recovering from exhaustion after this particular train experience.

Finally, here's the happy news: we had a GREAT time together, and saw and experienced new things!

Below is a taste of our vacation in gallery form -- I hope you'll enjoy looking at some of our pictures!

The sweet man I married!

In Arches National Park

The Colorado River

Sunset in Dead Horse Point State Park

Ready for dinner on our anniversary

"Ths sun comes up, it's a new day dawning.
It's time to sing Your song again.
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me...
Let me be singing when the evening comes.
Bless the Lord, Oh my soul,
Oh my soul, worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, Oh my soul,
I'll worship Your holy name."
Matt Redman