Connect
← Return to What have you done to improve balance?
Discussion
What have you done to improve balance?
Neuropathy | Last Active: Jul 30 1:52pm | Replies (72)Comment receiving replies
@ray666 - One thing for certain, you manage to get many of us thinking. I don't think it is a matter of being honest. I have found PN to be a rather complex issue. I have what I call good days and bad days with respect to numbness and balance. So, this can cause a variety of responses to how you are doing with PN. Today could be good, tomorrow, a flip of the coin. This is why I try to look back a year ago and think what I was able to do a year or two ago as compared to today. A benchmark of how we are doling needs to be looked at over time. I sure as hell am not doing as good as I did 4 years ago. But what does age have to do with it as well. Let's not forget there are many things out there way worse than PN. Ed
Replies to "@ray666 - One thing for certain, you manage to get many of us thinking. I don't..."
Oh, I agree, Ed, 120%: it's about far more than aging. You say (and it made me smile) that I can sometimes get us thinking. 🙂
Let me tell you how that comes about. I journal. I've been journaling for decades, long before Julia Cameron came along and urged people to journal doing what she called "Morning Pages." I'm almost ashamed to call what I do "journaling." "Scribbling" is more like it––especially with how illegible PN has made my handwriting! (I think we talked about that once, about how many checks we end up having to s*can because even we can read them!
Well, long-story-short, in yesterday's scribbling I was reflecting on how I'd only a few days earlier I assured the buddy in whose company I'd been when I took my monumental coffeeshop PLOP!––attracting the frightened attention of baristas and customers alike––that I was looking forward to our next coffee. When he asked if I felt "up" to another coffee, I heard myself saying, "Oh, hell, yes! That little ker-plop! was a 'nothing' event. I've forgotten about it."
That, Ed, was another of my partial-lies. On the partial-truth side, I am looking forward to our next coffee. Also on the partial-truth side, I do consider my fall––perhaps not a "nothing" event––it was at least a "pay attention" event.
But on the partial-lie side, I have not forgotten about the mini-scene I made, disturbing the peace, wallowing on the coffeeshop floor like some overturned horseshoe crab, needing a slew of helping hands to get my PN-rattled self back on my feet. I believe you and I are both great believers in Get Up, Get Moving! That's not changed. What my fall has done has given me pause for thought as I continue to little adjustments I need in order to Get Up (next time maybe on my own? maybe?) and Get Moving 🙂 .
(Just to assure you, I know there are gazillions out there living more challenging lives than I am. Many right here on Connect. And beyond Connect? All I need to do is watch the Evening News.)
Here's wishing you, Ed, and all of us, the best possible day, whether you're here on Connect or … or wherever you are!
Cheers!
Ray (@ray666)
Connect
Ed and Ray @ray666 - I always take a look at what you guys have to say, as I live with a great guy with PN, and we are trying everything to slow its impact (note I didn't say progress - not sure medicine is there yet.)
You inspire me!
Ed, "I sure as hell am not doing as good as I did 4 years ago..." made me laugh - pretty sure most of us on Connect would say that - especially as our bodies keep defying us by aging and finding new parts to act up.
Ray, "...it's not always the Big Things that present the only challenging trip hazards, it can also be––and often is––one of the least of things..." - you mean like having one foot refuse to lift up when your brain tells it to? I didn't actually fall, I caught myself, but the resulting skin injury from a dirty board in the yard sent me to the ER for wound care and a tetanus shot.
So, along with exercises for my bad swallowing and impaired voice, PT for my repaired shoulder and respiratory therapy for my lungs, I do balance exercises every day. Pretty soon I'll have to exercise in my sleep!