Life is a Rollercoaster

I remember many years ago on holiday, when my then young children were desperate for me to join them on a rollercoaster ride. For someone scared of heights, who prefers to have their feet planted firmly on the ground, the thought of a rollercoaster ride filled me with fear. However, not wanting to be a killjoy, I smiled the most enthusiastic smile I could muster, gritted my teeth, held my breath and braced myself for a terrifying experience.

Waiting for the ride to start, I was scared. All I could think about was the ride ahead and how awful the experience might be. I would have given anything to be anywhere other than waiting to start that ride. That was exactly how I felt when I received my diagnosis of Parkinson’s and for some considerable time afterwards.

However, a deep breath, a squeeze of my hand by one of my young sons, a few words of encouragement and a gentle nudge in the right direction and I was on the rollercoaster ride. I wasn’t sure if it would be more terrifying, doing the ride with my eyes wide open or with them shut tight. I shut my eyes tightly at first, too scared to look, but I felt I was missing out, so I opened them. Yes, it was just as scary with my eyes wide open but to my surprise, the trepidation before the ride was worse than the ride itself. Despite my protestations, once I embraced the fact that I was on the ride and let go of some of the fear, I was able to cope better with the ups and downs, unpredictable twists and turns and the experience was not nearly as traumatic as I had imagined it might be. To my amazement, there were even some enjoyable moments, there was laughter and dare I say it, in places, it was fun! All of this is also true of my experience with Parkinson’s.

Living with Parkinson’s certainly has its ups and downs. It would be understandable for any of us to want to dig our heels in and try to resist the ride but that would be as futile as trying to resist my children’s pleas to join them on the rollercoaster. We will be swept along on it, regardless of any objections or fears. The highs and lows thrust on us with little or no warning and no option to opt out.

We could sit in the sidelines, watching anxiously, trying desperately to stay within our comfort zone and refusing to take part in the ride. However, by doing so, we will be left sitting as the rollercoaster carries on regardless. That might seem like the easy option and in doing so, we might avoid the anxiety but we will almost certainly miss the smiles, the laughter, and the camararderie that might just remind us that life can still be fun even when we find ourselves on that unpredictable rollercoaster ride.