Movement

I’ve found through a bit of research that it’s important to keep moving if you have Parkinsons disease. So I wobble and shake my way along to the shops or to the pharmacy and back. Trying to get my slow steps in. I have looked at my movement counter but although I’m almost always getting a couple of thousand of steps in every day my heart rate barely registers!

What to do? Then someone from my surgery suggested a Parkinsons group that does table tennis (ping pong). I’d played this on the dining table at home as a young teenager and thought I’d have a go. My worker from the surgery came down to introduce me to the group a week ago. I needed that support because I find it hard to integrate with new people because of anxiety.

So..  I went, and found that I can hit a ping pong ball across a net! I was getting my feet tangled a bit and sort of felt rather static. But I could do it. I went back this week and I’m happy I can progress. I’m going to keep going. It’s only a fortnightly thing, but I hope it will be good for me. I ache in places I didn’t know I have though!

Coots feet

Padded paddle feet on a Coot. Their feet actually look bluer than this in real life, their legs are yellow. I’m posting this because an American friend wrote about their Coots which have similar feet, but yellow coloured.

I’m always getting Coots and Moorhens mixed up. But Coots have a white blob on their forehead and their beaks are white too, Moorhens have a red blob in the same place plus the top of their bills are red, and they have similar feet and legs to Coots, but they are yellow. Maybe they are related?

Dawn chorus 5am

Imagined view of our garden with bird singing. Too dark to really see.

It’s just after 5am now. I got up because my toes hurt (gout?) on the other foot to the one I had broken my toenail on. Long boring story…

Anyway it’d still dark so I’m sitting here by the light of a standard lamp and trying to sleep with my foot uncovered so there’s no pressure on it.

But through the window I can hear the lilting song of what I think is either a Robin or a Blackbird. I haven’t heard them in the morning during the winter, so I guess spring might just be on the way. It’s lovely to hear them, possibly marking out their territory in the tangled trees and bushes we call our garden. Mind you they have to be aware of the local cats. Mine are all inside snuggled up, but I hope they are singing high up in the branches. X

In toe news

Toe sorted out, went to a private chiropodists. Just got to let it settle down for a couple of days. This is the ‘before’ photo. He cut off the broken bit and trimmed my nails. Just after I got this appointment I got a call from the NHS podiatrists saying they could see me later today. I felt really guilty but I’d spent the night with my toes wrapped up and I didn’t get much sleep. I decided to stick with the appointment I’d made. I don’t like booking things then not turning up!

Makeshift covering…

After spending three hours searching for plasters… I found them. I’ve put one lengthwise over my toe to protect it. To hold the loose bit of my toenail in place. I tried to put another one round three toes but it didn’t work so I’ve resorted to Masking tape. It hurts but I didn’t want to leave it loose because when I go to bed the sheets will catch on it. Ouchie!

Oh my toes!

I’ve noticed my big toes are hurting again. They really are sore and when I try and sleep at night I have to pull the covers off them because the pressure of the duvet on them hurts and keeps me awake. Then I have to try and cover them up a bit because they get cold!

I was diagnosed with gout in my feet, then thumb a couple of years ago but I forgot. I’ve got quite a few things wrong with me and I don’t always remember all of them. I just keep taking the tablets. I hope I don’t moan about things too much, but sometimes things are maddening. But insomnia is debilitating, anything that can help me get to sleep and stay asleep would be good. Sometimes meditation takes my mind off things, perhaps I will try that tonight…

Stepping out

Only a few steps today, but more than I have been doing. I will try and keep this up now. If I can do around five thousand a day, or at least regularly, then it’s got to be better for me. Only problem is that my foot is hurting today, my shoe is rubbing on the outer side of my foot and I don’t know if it’s a temporary thing or if I’ve hurt myself. We will see tomorrow.