November brings about a change.....We are still in fall, but the nights remind us that winter is soon approaching. Here in the states November brings us to thoughts of warm cider, pumpkin pie, turkey and Thanksgiving. The gathering of families at grandma's and cozy nights by the fireplace. The hearth, the warmth and the love of family. A time to be thankful for all there is we have on this earth.
Now you might be wondering what all this has to do with PD, but it does.
If I have learned anything from dealing with PD, it is how much I have to be thankful for. As a caregiver, as one not having PD, I am so thankful that my health is where it is and I don't have to deal with this monster everyday in my own body. I am thankful that I have an outreach community, such as this to voice my opinions and concerns about PD. I am thankful that my guy, God Bless him, has the bestest attitude when dealing with this disease.
I believe that our lives would be different if he didn't have the positive outlook that he does. Not only does he put forth this attitude to me, to push me into all the research I have done and am doing, but, he pushes other people to really take a look at what they have in everyday life. To wake up extra early on your day off to see a sunrise, to lay back in a chair, by the water and listen for sounds of nature, to take time to breathe when you thought you had not one more breath, to look at your child, your wife, your sibling as an extension of you..all these things we daily take for granted.
Thanksgiving in rejoicing that you have an incurable disease, is not such as easy task. It's not that you are excited or happy you have it, yet, to BE thankful and rejoice that you can can have it and live life.
One thing, good or bad, I have come to notice, is that i really hate whiners. By whiners, I mean those who complain when they have a headache, or their foot hurts or maybe the coffee they got at Starbucks was not frothy enough. Yes there are things in life we would rather have different, even like me and the weather, I really wish it was warmer here now, I don't want to complain, but I still like my warm 80* days and 60* nights. However, when I look at the big picture it is but a meaningless wish. I can't change it...it is mother nature and she gives us what she has....BUT..there is some hope that tomorrow will be warmer...
With PD, there is a hope....a hope for a cure....but until that day, until that time when all the stars align and some genius, or maybe someone like me, could find a cure and this disease would just go away...we can be thankful in all that we have.
Dealing with this disease, you sure can learn a lot. You learn about who you are, about how deep your passion, your hope, your thankfulness, your faith, your patience, goes.
Yes, I am thankful for the opportunity to deal with this disease, for without it, my outlook on life in general just may be different. I might not have had the chance to expand my knowledge, open my heart and be a voice in this fight. I might not have met some other wonderful people doing the same. I might just be living a humdrum life, going to work, coming home, going to work, coming home and not truly be able to open my eyes to more than just a view...but a viewpoint.
So when all is said and done, I am not happy that PD is our lives, but I am happy. I am thankful that I have the strength to aid my beloved in HIS battle and see the joy, deep down in his eyes that he is thankful too.
|
