Sunday, July 12, 2009

Fun at the Flea Market, and a surprise gift

Our tiny little town (official population 750, actual population probably about 1,000) had its annual flea market today, and I had a booth there. I donned my "Parkie Princess" t-shirt, and hung up the Team Fox banner I had designed. I proudly set out all the beaded jewelry I've made over the last few months, plus some gently used clothing, and set up shop in anticipation of making some money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Here's my booth:

Well, it was a flea market, and not too many people were interested in buying NEW beaded jewelry; they were looking for real deals on used things. I was feeling discouraged. Then, this lovely older woman showed up, and poked around the booth for a little while, then asked me if she could take one of the informational leaflets I had printed out from the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Of course, I replied "Please, of course! Take one!", so she did and wandered off.
A while later, she came back. She said to me "I just wanted to thank you for doing this; my husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and I've learned so much about it just from reading this". Well, she made my day! We chatted for a bit, and she told me that she herself had epilepsy, for which she has had a surgery similar to DBS. She also said that she thinks her husband is in denial, and she's concerned because she's heard that the longer you wait to start medication, the less effective it is. I told her that the latest research says that that's not necessarily so, and in any case it varies widely from patient to patient.
To me, this meeting was an unexpected gift. I looked at this beautiful lady, clearly so strong and courageous, and I thought "In some small way, I have helped her today". Suddenly, I didn't care that I hadn't made a lot of money at the flea market. I made something more important. I made a difference.

3 comments:

Rick VanGameren said...

Making a difference. Yes!
That definitely sounds like the most important thing. Thanks for sharing the reminder.

pokie too said...

You have been making a differnce in my life and how I handle my diseases for quite some time now. Your site is so you...I love it. Keep up the good work. All my love Pokie

Victoria said...


My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at 57.his symptoms were shuffling of feet,slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle, things were tough for me, but now he finally free from the disease with the help of total cure from ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC, he now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed, he had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult,getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible.we had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,the biggest helped we had was ultimate life clinic they walked us through the proper steps,i recommended this www.ultimatelifeclinic.com to anyone who needs there help.

About Me

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I'm a lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband of 27 years, a fantastic 25 year old son (I'm so proud of him!) a loving and supportive family, the best friends in the world, a job that I love, and... Parkinson's Disease. I was diagnosed in September 2006. That was a jolt, but I'm learning to deal with it.