Hello!

I’m the fellow who created this topic over 15 months ago. I had just received my diagnosis at the time. Frankly, I knew practically nothing about my disease. Since then, thanks to others here at Connect and further meetings with my neurologist, I now know a lot more. Perhaps I shouldn’t say “a lot;” there is so much I could still learn. If you are looking for good, credible information, I would encourage you to visit the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy website FPN’s YouTube channel (where you’ll find a bumper crop of informative webinars).

As many who’ve read my posts already know, I had to give up live performance because of my PN. Since my teens, I’d made my living as an actor (I’m now 78). The last play I did was two years ago. My balance was becoming more and more of a problem. I recall asking the set designer if he would equip any steps he might be planning with good, sturdy handrails, and later in rehearsals asking one of my fellow actors if she would “keep an eye on me” in case I showed signs of being about to fall. I’d never before in my career made such requests, and so I decided to retire. To compensate, I’m now doing voice work, which I’m able to do from here at home. Voice work is satisfying, but I’d be lying if I said it was as satisfying as performing. It’s not. But, like all of us with PN and “lost” activities, we need to find “replacements.” It’s vital if we’ve any chance of keeping our spirits up.

I’d love to hear from others about what they’ve “lost” and what they’ve found for “replacement” activities.

Ray (@ray666)