Robin’s Parkinson’s story part 1 – the beginning

I had always considered myself pretty fit

My job is both a practical and a physical one and would be best described as active. I spend most of the working day on my feet, very little time is spent sat at a desk in front of a computer. It amuses me that in this day and age people assume sending an email is a positive action and results in immediate action by the recipient. For those deluded people a common occurrence for my working day is powering up my computer first thing in the morning and shutting it down at night without having had the time to read a single email.

So I guess you could say my job is busy, hectic, oh what the hell at times it’s manic with little time to think let alone check my emails. I should also state its probably the best job I have ever had but it does take it’s toll on me and will become increasingly harder for me to manage as my disease progresses.

I have a good work ethic, some might call me a workaholic. Health wise I think I have had less than 2 days off in the last 14 years. I could laughably be described as one of those annoying people who doesn’t do ill health. I have rarely taken tablets for anything. So far, since diagnosis I haven’t lost anytime from work due to health issues. Sure I have had hospital appointments but illness, no.

So how did my journey start and finish with a diagnosis of Parkinsons?

We have to go back to late summer 2014, I noticed I was having difficulty with walking first thing in the morning and later in the evening. I thought it may just be tiredness and would describe it as a heavy feeling as if my legs were not awake, an ache and cramp that had the potential at times to slow my movement considerably. I actually wondered if I had forgotten how to walk.

I had always been a fast walker who walked with purpose and determination. I knew something was definitely up when I started to be overtaken by other walkers on my way to or from work. I also developed what I first thought was a limp but turned out to be a drag of my left foot. At times walking got so bad that I would slow completely afraid to stop for fear I may not be able to start again. I knew something was up so looked with care on google, it was time to take action so in true man fashion I thought it best left until we had got Christmas out of the way. So the start of 2015 would be spent seeing my GP and other medical practitioners.

I think diagnosis will have to wait for my next blog.