I know for a fact that I have painful Sciatica and off balance Parkinson's because it is with me everyday!!! So, stupid me goes food shopping again to get more things for the weekend. Olivia and Frankie are going to visit Olya at college this weekend. Yesterday I made and froze the meat for Tacos. Today I bought all of the other things including sour cream, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, taco hard and soft shells, etc. I also bought lots of snacks and soda for them, I also purchased a box of cooked bacon, cream cheese, bagels, orange juice and cereal! Then I could NOT resist the "buy two six packs of bottled soda and get two packs free."

For me, it felt like they were this size in my cart!!!

For Dan it is ALWAYS about the food....for me, it is ALWAYS about the bargain!!) I now prefer to buy the bottles because they have lids and they just might put the lid on the bottle! Less spills and less mess!! My cart once again was loaded and heavy. Now, how stupid am I/? My Sciatica was throbbing like crazy and I was in so much pain. I was overdue to take my Carbidopa-Levodopa by about two hours so my walking gait was the five or six step shuffle instead of the normal two or three step shuffle. Did I really think I could push and control the shopping cart?? STUPID< STUPID< STUPID!!!But I paid and out I went towards my car. The huge problem was that a man was watering the Mums out front and his hose was along the ground. It was right in front of the walkway and the ramp so there was absolutely NO way to avoid it. I tried with all of my might to lift the loaded cart over the hose by pushing.That didn't work at all!! Then I went in front of my cart and pulled and lifted the cart a tiny bit and I actually heard something go wrong in my back. It was like a lightening bolt! The pain shot up from my lower back and up into my teeth and my head. Finally, an older gentleman came over and lifted my cart over the hose or I would still be there. My back is so bad, I am now bedridden(actually couch ridden) for the day, So, can you say STUPID?????

Never in a million years did I think I would have PD. I have learned that over 10 million people worldwide had PD. I always thought I would have a type of cancer because my mother and father and grandmothers on both sides had cancer. PD is a chronic progressive neurological disease. It is degenerative and that is scary because there isn't a set progression for how the disease affects each person. I don't know of any family member who had PD. My mother usually was mad at her family members and she stopped speaking to them when I was a teenager so I have NO IDEA if any of them had or have PD! Maybe I should join Ancestry or 23 and Me! I guess it doesn't really matter if you know it is in your family or if you don't know. It only matters if you get it!!! Before I was diagnosed with PD, I would occasionally hear about celebrities who were diagnosed. The celebrity I most often thought of was Michael J Fox. He is really the "face" of Parkinson's today. Before he was diagnosed, the only person I knew who had it was Muhammad Ali. I thought he got PD because of so many blows to his head in boxing.When a beloved celebrity takes a stand for a healthcare cause, the general public seems to stand up and listen. There are several famous faces that also have Parkinson's Disease. I googled which celebrities/famous people have/had PD today. This is the list I found: Muhammad Ali

Alan Alda,

Davis Phinney, Pope John Paul II

George H W Bush

Janet Reno, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Billy Graham, Billy Connolly, Rev Jesse Jackson,

Robin Williams , Brian Grant, Bob Hoskins, Dave Jennings, Leonard Maltin, Knowlton Nash, and Glen Tipton, Perhaps there are more, I don't really know. And maybe some celebrities choose to keep it private as Michael J Fox did for many years. Parkinson's doesn't discriminate, it affects all races, genders, and religions. It usually strikes people after age 50 but unfortunately there is also early onset Parkinson's.

For me, other than the pain, the worse thing about my condition is that it is so difficult to do normally easy things! I am cleaning out the garage because I want to move out of this house, it is too much for me to take care of now. I went out tot he garage with the walker my friend Carol gave me because it has a little cart/holder with it and then I can move things so that I can push and balance myself with the walker. My friend Carol's birthday is Sunday, and her brother and sister-in-law are throwing a party for her. I am so excited because there is something special planned that she knows NOTHING about!!!

Tonight I was watching America's Got Talent and the winner was a disabled young man who is blind and mentally challenged. I was so happy that he won. I think many people are starting to overlook the disability and really just "see" the person. I don't have tremors but I think that some people are uncomfortable being with people who tremor or shake. I have always been fine being around people with disabilities, I worked in special ed for most of my career and I loved working with all of my students with and without physical disabilities. And I will probably be one of those tremorring people one day.