Christine SeabyTechnology Tips from a Parkinsons expert:)
“February is short and sweet.” - Charmaine J Forde
Meet Jojo a Boxing 4 Health member whose inspiration and fight against Parkinsons is contagious. She's going to jump into my blog's from time to time to share her experiences with PD and some very useful tips she continues to find. Jojo's positivity will you give you hope to continue fighting your fight. YOU GOT THIS!
Welcome February! I love this month as March is just around the corner which means that spring is not far away. Let’s not forget Valentines Day and chocolate fondue, whether you are single or not, it can be a fun day.
It is a new Year. I am excited to share some of my discoveries on line and research for tools to assist my challenges. You see, when diagnosed with PD, it was quite a shock and later on I needed more resources to cope with my challenges than joining Parkinson’s Canada association and following Michael J Fox foundation. This brought me to share what worked for me.
Let’s reflect on how we can improve our challenges and set some realistic goals for 2022. I have been frustrated with movement disorders and after researching tools to assist me, I discovered and am excited to share with you tools , tips that might help some of you. To illustrate this, have a peek at the short video. (Attached)
Technology Tips and Tools
Meditation: I keep repeating this and will not stop. When you allow the nervous system to reset, you will be able to manage stress, anxiety and frustration. That being said, continue taking medication on time and notice the “on and off” period. For example, i make sure i just took my medication for better result. I thought i would never be able to continue this practice which my husband and I have been doing for a few years. I persisted and started five minutes guided or non guided Lying down at first. Now, I finally can do this in the lotus position sitting for 20 minutes. Accept that it will not always be perfect and sometimes you find yourself frustrated and that is ok. The key here is to be consistent and persistent. I am an Apple fan and yes you can find on Apple fitness meditation. It is guided but i assure you it works. You must clear your mind + take your medication as scheduled by your physician.
Movement Therapy: Boxing 4 Health, spinning, walking, snowshoe, cross-country skiing, etc…Simply move if you can. If it feels too cold just remember there is no such thing as bad weather it’s only bad clothing choices.
For those who wear makeup: The mechanics of application without stability makes it very difficult to achieve great results. Quite a few times i had challenges with my mascara and eyeliner. Let’s just say, a few times i became Chucky’s doll’s face.“Chuckle”. What is my trick? You need stability and if you place your elbows, on the table, it will enable the body to better manage the upper body tremors. An occupational therapist can give you strategies to help you.
iPhone Features: The IPhone has some very interesting and little known accessibility features. And that’s good, because if you are like me, you can forget about holding a device in your hand to text, write emails or take notes. Any movement disorder or tremors makes it difficult. Thanks to Apple’s innovative features, you can dictate rather than type. If you have an iPhone, iPad or Mac, just press on the microphone icon at the bottom right of the keyboard. Yes, it takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, it is sooo beneficial. And it is not only for people with PD either; anyone can benefit from this feature. In the attached video, I shall demonstrate this fabulous feature.
Reading Stand: I love reading but holding a book was very challenging and I found that I kept losing my place. So after some research I found an adjustable lap-stand which provides a stable platform for reading a book. As a bonus, I find that it also works well for scrolling on my iPad or iPhone, and as a lap-sized table for my hubby to munch on snacks while watching TV.