Reflecting on April as Parkinson’s Awareness Month
Teresa Anderson likes to be active, whether it’s walking, yard work, crafting, or spending time with her grandkids, she keeps herself busy.
And she doesn’t let Parkinson’s define her or slow her down.
“I find that if I keep busy and on-the-go all the time, I don’t think about it as much,” Teresa said.
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, as over 15,000 people in the province are currently on a life journey with the condition, according to the Parkinson’s Society of B.C. It is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system and the parts of the body controlled by the nerves.
Living with a Parkinson’s diagnosis for over a year now, Teresa says she continues to live life on her terms along with her husband, Merv.
“As far as our life routine, it hasn’t, in my mind, changed,” said Merv.
A loss of smell and some hand tremors were noticeable early symptoms, which prompted a visit to her family doctor and a referral to a neurologist.
However, that referral came with a two-year wait time in Canada, which led to scheduling a more timely appointment with a neurologist based out of Kalispell, MT, in the United States, who confirmed a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Research has shown that regular exercise and specific motor skills training can improve balance and ease symptoms.
“It’s really important for anybody at any age to keep moving and keep walking and keep exercising, so that’s what I’ll continue doing until I can’t do it anymore,” Teresa said. “But at this point, we’re still planning trips, we’re still going to do certain things all the time and live our life.”
Over the winter, Teresa regularly found herself at Western Financial Place to walk the concourse and follow the exercise stations that the city implemented, which specifically target movements such as balancing, squatting, side-stepping and others.
Even simple motor skills exercises are helpful, such as opening and closing a hand, or doing ‘rock, paper, scissors’
In the spring and summers, Teresa and Merv say they are as active as ever, but maybe slightly less intensive than in years past — and not necessarily because of Parkinson’s.
In addition to staying as active as possible, Teresa is also involved with a local support group, where people on their own journeys can lean on each other and share their own experiences and strategies for living with and managing their symptoms.
She also leaned on resources available through the Parkinson’s Society of B.C. and Parkinson Canada.
The family is also close, with a daughter in Cranbrook and son in Calgary, as well as grandkids who keep both Teresa and Merv on their toes.
“I think it’s so important because they keep you young, they keep you on the go all the time like that, so it makes a big difference,” Teresa said.