John M. Baumann, JD, The
Inspiring Esquire, Proud Person with Parkinsons
A day like any other day, a routine visit to the doctor, wondering why
throws across the diamond lost some zip, walk out in a daze, there must be some
mistake, I know Michael J. Fox got it early in life but isn't that unusual, I
just turned 40, no way I have Parkinsons.
HOW
TO POSITIVELY DEAL WITH A LIFE-CHANGING MEDICAL CONDITION
John
is available for inspirational speaking appearances.
Muhammad Ali,
Pope John Paul II, John Baumann, Michael J. Fox . . . . Wait a minute, back up a
name. What do I have in common with this group of famous people? You may have
guessed it. The answer is that all these people have been diagnosed with
Parkinsons.
Not many people outside the PD community know much about
this condition. I prefer to call it a "condition", but it actually is
a disease, an incurable, progressive, neurological disease, which means that I
am getting worse every single day I am alive.
Now that that horrible
statement is out in the open, let me tell you what it actually is. When, for
whatever reason, the brain slows or stops producing dopamine, symptoms start to
appear. For me, the first symptom was that my right arm did not swing when I
walked. In fact, my friends (rightfully so) made fun of my gait not knowing that
it was related to PD. By the way, it is very common for PD to be undiagnosed,
especially for those of us in our early 40's, since pre-Michael J, it was
thought to be a disease that only affected "old" people (in my youth
40 seemed very old, ancient actually). Over the next few years, other symptoms
of PD appeared: less blinking, poker face (no one in my Texas Hold'em group
could ever tell when I got that fourth Queen), microhandwriting, and, finally,
my right hand started to shake.
The funny thing about PD is that there
is no test to determine if you have it other then doing an autopsy. Being that I
am still alive, and that I intend to stay that way for a long, long time, I
opted against the autopsy (not a tough decision). What you can do is start the
medication and see if the symptoms temporary cease. If the medication works,
you've got it.
Unfortunately, the medication worked and at 43 years
young, I was diagnosed with "early onset PD" (side note: if you have
PD before you are fifty, studies show that you will never have dimentia, well at
least no more worrying about whether dimentia is in my future).
Where
was I: at first, I was in shock, I had to function day-to-day, do my job,
support my family, tell my relatives, deal with their reactions, deal with my
own emotions, mostly, I was tired all the time. Thank God, it was not affecting
my ability to do my job at the high level I strive for - that was my biggest
fear.
Once the shock started to ware off, I got proactive. I learned as
much as I could about PD. What I learned was that there are some brilliant
people working on a cure (about ten years ago they said that a cure would be
discovered within five years, I guess scientists have some trouble with basic
math). Next, I learned there is something that I can do.
Although you
can't stop the progression, you may be able to slow it. Wow, talk about
motivation. Since I am not a medical researcher (too late to go back to school,
too old to put in 12 more years), I am not going to find a cure (go team!).
However, I may be able to affect my quality of life.
This list may not
surprise you: exercise; eat right; reduce stress; be optimistic; laugh a lot;
stretch; and lots of affection (not really, but can't hurt). By the way, eating
right includes blueberries, (no kidding) red wine and dark chocolate. Say no
more, I am signed up.
My next decision was to do something that I felt
would be more worthwhile with my life than being a General Counsel. Despite much
apprehension, I started up my own legal/management consultant/speaker firm.
Just as there is much that can be done to proactively prevent, or at
least slow, the progression of PD, I dedicate my energy and passion to speaking
on PD, the elimination of workplace harassment, providing supervisor leadership
skill training (including to avoid unionization), reducing workplace injuries,
and teaching success and negotiation skills. I also wanted to prove to myself I
was still fit enough to cut down over 40 trees on my lot.
That is where
I am - enjoying life, enjoying work. Oh yeah, did I mention that I am a
Parkinsonian and I guess proud of it.
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