Shaky Foot Wisdom
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September 5, 2020
We Have Met the Enemy and He is Us
With thanks to Walt Kelly and his classic character Pogo’s wisdom, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” While Pogo may have been referring to humanity’s ill effect on the earth, I have always found this a profound statement of being human.
So, it was with my usual vim and vigor that I responded to the news of my Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis five weeks ago with the abiding desire to find out what to do next. As I have mentioned before, of course, I have been slip sliding through all the stages of grief as well.
Try a Parkinson’s Exercise and Wellness Program, an herbalist friend said. Quickly I found myself engaged in an exercise program that included Rock Steady Boxing™ and Mat Pilates. I was not a runner, a jogger, or even a steady gym goer. Yet, while huffing and panting through the cardio workout, I soon took to it like a duck to water, even having fun splashing my birdwings in the waters of workout.
Then comes the price of both age and inactivity. At the third session of Rock Steady Boxing™, I felt the pang and tug of low back strain but managed to finish the workout. That was on a Friday. I spent the weekend hobbled like a man in need of a walker. No worries, my chiropractor would put this Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Just before the next workout, my dear chiropractor did just that and as I literally bounded off the table, we both agreed I should go ahead and give another workout a try with the only caution to baby it a bit and try not to overdo it.
All went well that morning until the final left leg high kick to the punching body dummy. I felt the sharp tang and pang of pain in my left low back and hamstring. At least for now, icepack, Epsom salt soaks, physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments are the workout replacement.
In my enthusiasm to meet this head on, I temporarily forgot, “I have met the enemy and he is me”. Yet I am reminded of the Persian Sufi Proverb, “this too shall pass.”
