(36) My Parkinson's positives: 2013-2022

Words, words, words...

In 1958 I went to the The Good Shepherd, an English-medium primary school in the Eastern Cape. The mother-tongue of the children was either English, Afrikaans or Gujarati and I also learnt to read and write in Tamil at home (I cannot, anymore). Then, I attended an Afrikaans-medium high school. At university I majored in English and Drama (including courses in Afrikaans and German). I completed an Honours in Drama as well as a Master's degree on Adam Small, a South African playwright who wrote mainly in Afrikaans. 

My first teaching post was at the University of Zululand (1980), where I was sensitised to isiZulu and how different it was to English. Most important was the impact of one's mother-tongue, such as isiZulu, on one writing in an acquired language, such as English.

As I had been exposed to a number of languages in my life, I became critical about the impact of English on speakers of other languages, so I focused on language and writing in my career and research. Between 1988-2001, I explored ways of facilitating the English writing process for undergraduate students, whose mother-tongue was not English. From 2001, my focus shifted to assisting academic staff with their writing, leading to a PhD in 2007.

Literacy skills - particularly reading and writing - have always fascinated me, which is why I am grateful that, after having Parkinson's for ten years, I am still able to think, compose and type. Today, we will zoom in on my "handedness".

Incidentally, the Tamil script equivalent of my full name, "Arungasen", is "அருங்கச்சென்" (courtesy of a website). It looks vaguely familiar, dear reader, but I am unable to verify this, so...

Optimism: what's left to go, right? 

From the time I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD) in 2013, I opted to stay Parkinson's-drug-free. At the time, I read extensively on the subject and was concerned with the possible and unpredictable side-effects of PD drugs. 

As PD appears to facilitate one's stress and anxiety, I have been consciously trying to focus on purely feel-good moments while also celebrating the gains in my PD life. Some positives (+) are below.

+ Positive News site. In keeping with this thinking, I subscribe to the Good Things Guy, a South African good news site. I get a weekly email with links to South African news to warm my heart. 

+ This Blog. Another positive is my typing, specifically related to learning to type with my left hand (a function that includes five left fingers and at least one finger from my right hand). This skill has developed over the last four years, and is worth noting, considering that I was born with a dominant right hand (see Neuroplasticity in post 28). The most productive thing I have done since retiring is to have produced this blog that has attracted people to visit the site regularly. Two general observations follow.

1. Numbers. During the past 28 months, since the launch in May 2020, there has been a total of 1701 views of my Blog (these are views as I have to assume they have read either part or all of my posts). Each of the 35 posts' viewership has varied between 20 and 60. 
2. Location. Most of my viewers are local and the rest are overseas. During August 2022, for instance, out of a total of 49 viewers, about 37% (18) are overseas [Russia (14), Ireland (2) and Greece (2)] while about 63% (31) are in South Africa.      

+ Handwriting. This is something I have valued as one who used to love to write and collect pens and pencils. Neurologists observe handwriting to determine whether one has a movement disorder such as PD. A simple test consists of writing a sentence, e.g. a nursery rhyme, and drawing an Archimedes spiral. Another is a comparison of writing or letters of the alphabet on lines and without lines. These tests are done in the context of Parkinson's tremors, stiff fingers and involuntary quivers.  Below are a few examples produced at home, seated at my desk, relaxed.  

1.  The paper is only 7.5cm square and I used a ballpoint pen for the writing and the Archimedes spiral. Enlarged, the writing appears to have been done with a shaky hand. 

OBSERVATION: I struggle to fill out forms in public, unless I'm able to control the lighting and surface on which I can write as clipboards are terrible! At home I am relaxed, while I am anxious in public. For instance, this week I attended a Parkinson's ZA occupational therapy workshop in Durban. My caregiver had to fill out the one-page registration form for me as I was unable to do this on a clipboard. (Sigh!)  

 
  

2. I wrote this last month using a Yoken felt-tipped calligraphy pen. I used to enjoy calligraphy but do not appear to have the patience for it anymore. I used a ruler to draw the lines, each one 4cm wide, on which I wrote. The paper is a normal A4 size sheet 21cm X 30cm. 

OBSERVATION: I surprised myself when I produced this, one line a day over five days. I was curious about my ability to write neatly and now it has been satisfied! Again, it was done at my desk and I was relaxed.    

 

+ Hand "dominance". There is a documented notion of mixed-handedness or "cross-dominance" which may describe what is going on with me (see Posts 8 and 28) regarding my left-right hand use. However, this describes a negative attribute when it occurs in children. These labels describe one favouring either the left or right hand, often in sport, leading to a "slowing" down of the brain function. Consequently, such labels often have a negative connotation when associated with children whose brains are still forming. 

In my case, a 70 year old adult, the following are estimations of my present state of handedness, where "LH" refers to my left hand, "RH" refers to my right and "pre-PD" refers to my condition before diagnosis in 2013. Below, is my list of the not-so-magnificent seven acts, monitored over the past seven years! I have listed these seven acts as they are based on my long-term observations.

• HANDWRITING.............:  RH (exclusively).................(pre-PD: same) 
• BRUSHING TEETH........:  LH (80%) + RH (20%).......(pre-PD: reversed)
• BRUSHING HAIR...........:  LH (80%) + RH (20%).......(pre-PD: reversed)
• SOAPING MYSELF........:  LH (80%) + RH (20%).......(pre-PD: 50%/50%)
• DISHWASHING..............:  LH (mostly).......................(pre-PD: reversed)
• TYPING (KEYBOARD)..: LH (80%) + RH (20%)........(pre-PD: reversed)
• MOUSE (COMPUTER)..:  LH (exclusively)..................(pre-PD: reversed)

The handwriting and ability to write has remained a constant, probably because of the complex processes connected to the act of writing. The handedness of the other six acts has been changed by my PD: what I like to call my "hijacked dexterity" 😒.  

   

Without PD chronic meds, what's left?

Well, if "chronic" means something that is persistent and generates effects that are long-lasting, then PD fits the bill. Being parkinsed also means that most PD people should take chronic medication for a long period. That also means that PD people taking chronic medication have to endure the possible side effects of such medication. NB: I respect and admire the courage of all my PD acquaintances who are on chronic medication!!!   

It is well documented that the most commonly prescribed drug for Parkinson's Disease is L-dopa/ Levodopa/Carbidopa/Sinemet/etc. This drug encourages the brain cells to convert its ingredients into dopamine, which, as we know, is in short supply due to the presence of Parkinson's. The result of such a conversion is that our dopamine supply is restocked so that we return to some form of normality. 

 In the world of nature's alternatives to drugs, there is a tropical bean, called mucuna pruriens. I've mentioned this before in posts 24 and 35. These beans contain natural levodopa that, unfortunately, is poisonous if ingested in its pure form. However, it has been extracted and used in ancient Chinese and Indian medicine for many centuries, including Ayurvedic regimes. For the curious reader, there are two research papers that look into this (Paper 1 & Paper 2). 

That's all for now, dear "viewder" 😁.  Till next time, take care.