It began with a tremor that visited so briefly and has not yet returned. The taste of my third cup of coffee was beginning to go stale at the back of my throat, reminding me both that my children were waiting and, of course, to fetch a mint on my way out.
Before the keyboard smoke could form an ember, I polished off the final paragraph of the newsletter. As my right hand began autopiloting the save process; my left hand entered it’s own private disco. It rocked rapidly back and forth of its own accord. I thrashed my arm up and down as though I may have had a deadly spider poised to inject it’s toxins into the back of my hand. As I relaxed my arm my hand came to rest on its familiar place on the keyboard. The bizarre moment had passed. ‘Time for a caffeine detox!’ I thought as I noticed the ever growing pile of mugs on my desk.
I scooped them up and moved them to the sink in the staff room (A terrible habit that I am forever in trouble for, as the dishwasher is only inches further. There are some challenges I seem unable to fix!) I grabbed my bag and rushed out of the office. A niggling cough, interrupting my general call of ‘Goodbye’ to anyone who was within range.
Comments
I need more! Great writing Todd.
Articulate n engaging in writing as in person. I admire and appreciate the sharing.
No one can fully appreciate your difficulties, however we are here to support you 100%
you write with absolute truth and an injection of humor. Such strength and positiveness shines through.
Thanks for sharing. My wife and I met you once for a school tour before we suddenly moved to Perth with our girls. We were both incredibly impressed with you. We just read the article about your diagnosis of early onset Parkinson’s. Be following your blog with great interest and hope at some stage we can help out financially with the treatment.
Author
Thanks Lachlan, It honestly is a real pleasure to be able to give school tours for such a great place. This has been yet another opportunity for the community to shine, of which I am so thankful. I really appreciate your comment! I did make a small edit, but you have given me a great opportunity to point out that one of the most positive outcomes of my diagnosis is I have no greater risk of dementia than the general public! This isn’t always the case so I am very grateful. For me losing control of my mind would be far more frightening than losing control of my body…