Overview, Post 50 (PART 1)
"...if I could challenge PD with a PhD 😊...what would be my plan of action? Could I, as a practitioner researcher, eventually generate personal theories based on my own observations...the perceived warrior training is below."
Warrior training challenges 1. and 2. have been covered in Post 50, while 3. and 4. are below.
- Could I strengthen my mental capacity in order to challenge my PD before my retirement? (←see Post 50)
- Would improved physical ability help me attack my PD before my retirement? (←see Post 50)
- Could I shield my state of health and "slow down" my PD before my retirement?
- Could I generate personal theories in support of my experience as a PD warrior?
CONT. Warrior training 2013-2017
3. Diet/Health
What I eat nowadays has been influenced by my childhood and life experiences so shifting my diet was realistic as there was a context (my PD), there was personal motivation (improving my PD) and I was also dealing with an enlarged prostate. I have become a selective eater. Most of what I eat is based on what my left hand can manipulate, that is, both the type of food and type of cutlery. For instance, if pasta is on the menu then I would always opt for the shorter penne rather than the longer spaghetti.
So, I have made the following choices: *opt for white meat; *opt for white cheese; *opt for low GI bread; *opt for lactose-free milk; *opt for dark chocolate (although milk chocolate keeps me happier); *drastically reduce my alcohol intake; my wife *switched to cooking with coconut oil since 2014, and has started baking with Atta flour. I believe they are all helping me a little bit (no clinical trials, though :-)!
In addition to PD I have low blood sugar and have stopped taking sugar in my daily cereal *opting instead for raisins. Also, I *opt for honey in my morning tea and twice-weekly coffee. I used to look for a chocolate to top up low sugar levels, but nowadays I *opt for dates or juice and snacks are nuts, fruit and biscuits.
I have complete faith in the opinion of my GP and local pharmacist. While I tend to explore alternative approaches, I am wary of anything too prescriptive unless it makes sense to me. For instance, my blood type and diet might be connected and subsequently influence what I should eat and drink, but I am also keen on healing myself in an Ayurvedic way which would mean balancing the three forces or doshas. Ultimately, it depends on what I want to achieve, why I want to do so and how?
You may choose to regard me either as fickle or realistic.
4. Personal Theories
A living educational theory, according to Jean McNiff, is "the idea that each person is capable of offering evidence-based explanations
for how they live, as they attempt to exercise their
educational influences [in order] to engage critically with their own thinking,
and seek to influence the thinking of others in an
educational way, a way that nurtures further learning."
I subscribe to the McNiff idea that as an ordinary person, I am able to offer 'evidence-based explanations for' how I live. This is in contrast with what many prefer to do, which is to subscribe to the notion of a "great man" theory and subscribe to the actions of a leader in the field of research. Throughout history, a male leader (e.g. Plato, Napoleon, Einstein, Bose, Mandela, Obama, etc.) who had excelled in his field, generated large numbers of admirers wanting to emulate their heroes. This was made easier to access when their achievements were reproduced in print format. Marie Curie and Jane Goodall and many other women are among those extraordinary leaders.
Let's revisit the idea of McNiff's "evidence-based explanations" and my own personal theories. When I registered my PhD in 2001 my focus was to develop an instrument to assess writing. In a nutshell, writers should be able to assess and correct others' writing according to clear criteria. Once those criteria had been internalised and writers had tested others' writing, it might be possible for the writers to assess and correct their own writing. I also decided to include, as evidence, my own observations of issues in language and writing since 1985, rather than draw exclusively from recognised theory in applied linguistics. That was my way of avoiding "great man theory".
In this post I will contribute to the rise of small man theory in PD :-).
Ari's PD Theory
A theory, as I understand it, is a statement of a problem followed by a possible action/solution under specific conditions. The problem should be clearly stated so that the action/solution may be repeated by others when this theory needs to be tested. Let's try to apply this to me and Parkinson's Disease.
PD THEORY: FOOTWEAR (SEE POST 6, April 2020)
NB My Parkinson's started on my right side from around 2012 and I was diagnosed in 2013.
PROBLEM: In 2020 I stopped wearing shoes, as I struggled with socks and laces, so I only wore sandals. Leaning against a wall, I would balance on the left leg, then point the right foot in the direction of the back of the sandal before sliding my right foot into it. However, after a few months, my right foot started to move in slow motion and then 'freeze', so I was unable to slide my right foot into the sandal. During the 'freeze' action that would last a while, I would become irritated and the resulting frustration would simply reinforce inaction. Nowadays, I need to be seated when putting on footwear.
(CONCERN: I was concerned that, after regular occurrences, the slow motion action would be reinforced and then stored as the new normal during any attempt to wear sandals. Also, the action could gradually slow down to a 'freeze'!)
SOLUTION: 👍 One morning, out of sheer frustration, I shut my eyes, cursed loudly and my right foot slid slowly into the right sandal without my freezing! A moment of serendipity! I discovered that I could slip on my sandals simply by keeping my eyes closed: Wow!
➤ CONCLUSION: The action of closing my eyes helps me to slip my feet into footwear without 'freezing'!
PD THEORY: SITTING/STANDING
PROBLEM: Moving smoothly from standing upright, then into a seated position, and back to a standing position has become a challenge. When I am at home in a chair with arms (or trying to get into the passenger seat of our car), it is possible to get seated and, within a few seconds, to stand up again. However, after being seated for an hour or so, either at home or in the car, it is not possible for me simply to stand up, as my body has relaxed into a seated, 'freeze' position. During the 'freeze' action that sometimes lasts up to a few minutes, I used to become irritated and the resulting frustration would reinforce the inaction. At home, one solution is to ask my wife to pull my body forward so I can stand up. (If I'm in the car it is complicated, because if it's parked on a slope or at an angle or in traffic, then I have to wait until I am relaxed before attempting to alight. This is the one exception where my tension overrides the effects of closing my eyes.)
PROBLEM: My regular morning bowel movement started to become "irregular" about three years ago when my core muscles started to weaken. This could be the result of Parkinson's weakening my bowel wall muscles making it more difficult to pass a stool. As a result of making myself tense as well as trying to force the movement, I was in danger of creating excessive strain which could lead to a hernia, according to my urologist who was treating my enlarged prostate at the time. I have a relative who's had hernia issues and it appears to become complicated as one ages.
PROBLEM: Moving smoothly from standing upright, then into a seated position, and back to a standing position has become a challenge. When I am at home in a chair with arms (or trying to get into the passenger seat of our car), it is possible to get seated and, within a few seconds, to stand up again. However, after being seated for an hour or so, either at home or in the car, it is not possible for me simply to stand up, as my body has relaxed into a seated, 'freeze' position. During the 'freeze' action that sometimes lasts up to a few minutes, I used to become irritated and the resulting frustration would reinforce the inaction. At home, one solution is to ask my wife to pull my body forward so I can stand up. (If I'm in the car it is complicated, because if it's parked on a slope or at an angle or in traffic, then I have to wait until I am relaxed before attempting to alight. This is the one exception where my tension overrides the effects of closing my eyes.)
(CONCERN: I was concerned that, after regular occurrences, the freeze motion action would be reinforced and then stored as the new normal during any attempt to stand up after a freeze.)
SOLUTION: 👍 On one occasion during a chair-seated freeze, I shut my eyes, and was able to lift myself up without assistance. I discovered that closing my eyes while frozen in a seated position was the equivalent of pressing reset on a computer, the same as putting on sandals. With my eyes closed, I was able to gradually focus on moving my legs, shifting my feet and bottom forward and off the seat, before slowly standing up. (Recently, we invested in a Willowbrook recliner that allows me to sit upright, to recline, to sleep and also to take me from a seated to a standing position. A clever piece of engineering!)
➤ CONCLUSION: The action of closing my eyes helps me to stand upright after being 'frozen' in a seated position!
PD THEORY: BOWEL MOVEMENTS
(CONCERN: I was concerned that, after regular occurrences of straining myself, I could develop hernias.
SOLUTION: 👍 Again, serendipitously, I started to (i) shut my eyes and to relax and (ii) to exhale slowly. After a few times it worked: I was relaxed and had relearned how to have a bowel movement. The exhaling slowly appears to be what helps me with my morning movement. I have also learnt that if nothing happens then I simply ignore it until my bowel is ready, which is often later that same day.
➤ CONCLUSION: The action of closing my eyes helps me to have a relaxed, regular bowel movement!
Ari's PD Theory & Observation
PD THEORY: If I am at home, seated, and unable to perform a task*, then I should close my eyes, relax and try again. (* putting on sandals; standing from a seated position; bowel movement).
OBSERVATION
My Parkinson's Disease (PD) slows down my dopamine production which has a direct impact on my muscles. As PD is regarded as a movement disorder, then my muscles are directly affected. This means that muscle memory "a neurological process that allows you to remember certain motor skills and perform them without conscious effort." will be challenged. What was a normal action, e.g. putting on a sandal, is now disrupted by dopamine reduction. As a person with PD, I was unable to put on the sandal.
What do you think, dear reader: Have I challenged PD? Till next time, be safe.
