Schools out for the summer! I am proud to say that Joshua and I passed the 3rd grade. Thank you Google! It was an interesting school year to put it mildly, with Joshua doing virtual learning for the entire school year thanks to the global pandemic. With the first round of the Pfizer Covid vaccine still fresh in my arm, this YOPDad decided the time was right to start getting back to normal. That means our annual trip to Florida to visit my parents for a little fun in the sun.
Traveling with a child can be stressful, but traveling as a person with Parkinson’s and a child is off the charts. Before the pandemic, I would travel constantly. I practically lived in an airport, but that was then and this is now. A lot has changed in my journey with Parkinson’s. The last time I flew on an airplane was pre-pandemic, and I didn’t realize it until recently how much the pandemic affected me as a person with Parkinson’s. For starters, I became extremely depressed. Extremely. My disease progressed to the point of needing to be put on a dopamine agonist, while depressed, during a pandemic. It didn’t turn out well. The final blow has been my cognitive decline. I have forgotten bits and pieces of my life… sometimes chunks. I’ve managed to make it through this year with my little man, hopefully stronger for it. Unfortunately, none of that translates into traveling while Parky. Simply put… I’m a newbie all over again.
Traveling is stressful, but traveling with Parkinson’s is on a whole other level. The journey doesn’t begin at the airport, or even when packing your bags. It’s before that. It’s the lead up to when you have to get ready for your trip and the anxiety starts to kick in. I personally do not do well in enclosed places with large amounts of people. I don’t like to be touched, bright lights, or loud noises. So of course in my infinite wisdom, I decided to fly. Surely there are no people or loud noises in an airport, right? Bueller, Bueller…
What’s done is done. Flying it is. We get to the airport and that’s when the real fun begins. Basic functions are difficult with Parkinson’s like walking, balance, not shaking uncontrollably, you know… the little things. Carrying luggage for a week plus extra for souvenirs aka crap we’ll never see again, is a chore. Tip: Volunteer to gate check your carry on luggage. It’s less you have to worry about, plus you’ll endear yourself to the person in charge of your seating assignments. Look how stressful this sounds and we’ve only checked in our bags. Nothing is simple when traveling while Parky. When I’m stressed my tremor kicks in. Have you ever handed your boarding pass to a TSA agent while trembling? There are always follow up questions. The cognitive issues means I’m having to pass through the metal detector multiple times, because I keep forgetting to take something off. Tip: TSA Precheck is a life saver. You don’t have to unpack anything, take off as much, and you breeze to the front of the line… which is nice for someone that doesn’t like to be around people or touched.
You don’t just magically appear at your gate or your destination. Flying from my home airport IAH to my destination airport SRQ requires some navigating through a ton of people traffic. I fly Delta which means there is always a stop in Atlanta, also known as the main hub of Delta and one of the busiest airports in the world. That infinite wisdom people. Don’t be jealous of it. In Houston and Atlanta there is a tram to get you around different parts of the airport. With balance issues, riding that tram is a nightmare. I never want to sit in the disabled spot, even though it is a must these days, because I just don’t want the look from people who can’t see the invisible disease I have. I can’t show them my balance issues unless I stand up on the ride and fall down. I’m not saying I care what other people think, quite the contrary. I just don’t like dealing with dummies. This also applies to the restroom stalls too for disabled people.
All of this has finally led us to boarding our flight. We’re on the plane. Smooth sailing, right? Not so fast. I tend to nod off when we take off. When I sleep I have vivid dreams and thrash. Do that on a flight and the flight attendant will wake you up. You will not have a happy person sitting next to you either. I don’t care what she was thinking, but I’d like to think the young lady sitting next to me was wishing she was seated next to a sweaty, smelly guy over a Parky. Personally, I’d rather sit next to someone who flinches in their sleep, but to each their own.
We’ve landed. We’re home at my parents. We made it! Not so fast. Just like the pre-travel anxiety comes with Parkinson’s, so does the post travel fatigue. Today was our first day in Florida and while I managed to get some exercise in, I didn’t do much else. I slept most of the day, exhausted from the travel. I refuse to feel guilty for not spending time with my family, plus Joshua got to re-wrap my mom around his little finger. The struggle is and will continue to be real throughout all aspects of my life with Parkinson’s… even what should be fun. I’ve learned that instead of arguing with or quitting because of my Parkinson’s, that I should find ways to navigate with it or around it. I’m not a lesser version of the original me, just adjusted to handle the new and I must say improved version of me. Bad things happen, but that just means that good things happen too. I’ve somehow managed to navigate through the most difficult year of my life, back to where I should be for myself and for my son. It wasn’t a fun route, but tomorrow we’re going to do what we would do every summer… have some fun in the sun. It’s not going to be an easy journey, but that’s all part of the life of a… traveling Parky.