neurorehabilitationFromTheTrenches

Here is my aforementioned interview, with Birgit. Apologies, to Birgit in particular, for my tardiness. Without further ado: Me: Hello Birgit Birgit: Hello Declan Me: Can you describe the events that led you to here? Birgit: Oh, at the moment? or the situation? Me: ..The situation Birgit:  I had a daughter in 2007, that's 11 years ago. She is the only child I have. Well, I started to get the symptoms of Parkinsons. Me: oh. Birgit: Yes, well, before, I had some symptoms but I never had any idea that I could have Parkinsons, because I'm too young. Me: Can you describe the symptoms? Birgit: Well, if I look back, 11 years. I couldn't sew or walk for a very long time; the muscles were tight. Also, I got grey hair. I didn't like the situation I was in, 11 years ago, before I was diagnosed. Then, in 2007 I was diagnosed with Parkinsons. Me: How old were you, in 2007, when you were told? Birgit: I was 33. It was the birthday of my sister so I know the date

The irony of me, of all people, writing this guide to walking is not lost on me. With that said, I want to share some wisdom I have picked up, when it comes to walking from A to B. I think the important thing to try to remember when it comes to walking is how complex it is. Even without the balance and coordination problems that I have, there's still the orchestra of muscles and brain to consider. Fortunately, for ableds , there is no need, beyond toddlerhood, to consider any of this; it just works. What I have learned of late, is that walking is little more than controlled falling. If I cast my memory back to my premorbid self, I took for granted that I was moving along mindlessly. Now that I'm trying to relearn to walk, I was hoping that, one day, I'd find myself ambling along, absentmindedly; then I'd be cured. But now I realise that I will have to brave up. Toddlers have the advantage, over me, of being able to topple over relatively comfortably, not to mention

Hello. I've a lot to cover, since I'm a week late, so I'll get cracking. Firstly, and foremostly, I've tried a couple of different walking aids since Aschaffenburg with varying degrees of success. During my time in Aschaffenburg , I had ordered a 4-pronged cane, meanwhile I got busy practicing with a cane that Autonomie provided me with. When I got home to Bergedorf, I continued training with a 4-pronged, while secretly waiting for, what I considered to be, my salvation; a zimmerframe, or Gehbock, as I've come to know it. In theory, a zimmerframe should have done what I had hoped it would, namely, the 4 legs would provide ample security while its lightweight nature would mean that I could move it along comfortably. It didn't work quite like that, sadly. The G ehbock has the stability, and does offer security. However, the speed at which I have to move, to avoid toppling over, renders the whole exercise pretty useless. Back to the 4-pronged then. After real

As weeks in my life go, this has been highly irregular. My first week, of two weeks, in Autonomie Therapiezentrum, Aschaffenburg has ended, so here follows the lowdown on my stay, so far, in Aschaffenburg: I'm living Partridgesque in an hotel, The Olive Inn, a mere 500 meters from the Therapie zentrum . I have to taxi it to and from my therapies daily. To get here Claire and I took the train from Hamburg, it took around 4 hours last Saturday. After we spent the first night of my epic hotel dwelling together, we went through the actions I would later require, for example, getting with my wheelchair outside to wait for a taxi and safely returning to my room. We (she) also fixed a safety handle on the wall near the toilet. As soon as Claire was satisfied that I was in no imminent danger, she was free to return to Hamburg on the train, until Friday when she would return to check on me and do some weekend training. She has just left for Hamburg for the second time, after a very eventf