Planes, trains and automobiles: not much fun for parkies!

What a nightmare! Sitting in a cramped, stuffy, vastly uncomfortable chair for 5 hours used to be just annoying, but now it could be considered torture by some definitions... I left San Francisco at 12:30 a.m., tried to sleep on the plane, slouched over in my built-for-a-six-foot-tall-man seat with the headrest shoving my head forward. My last pill was at 6:00, so I wasn't feeling very well. Wave after wave of alternating tremors and muscle rigidity were crashing over my body. Finally, I decided to just take another pill, so I managed a couple of hours of sleep. Then, when we landed in North Carolina, I had to run to catch my connecting flight, or at least I thought I had to. I was practically running through the airport, staggering under the weight of my heavy carry-on and my winter coat. When I got to the gate, I found out that the flight was an hour later than I thought.. Doh!!!

Things I learned the hard way about traveling with just Old Man Parkinson for a traveling companion (so far):

1) Don't carry too much stuff; better to be bored than overloaded.
2) Put your medication in your carry-on in a readily accessible place.
3) If, like me, you need a cane occasionally, this is the occasion !
4) Don't forget that you're the one who's going to have to lug that suitcase to the rental car place or wherever, so don't overpack

Well the good news is that I got here safe and sound, and my dad and I moved my stepmom back home today; she's doing much better, though she gets tired very quickly, and has a lot of pain to deal with. We all feel very lucky; we could have lost her this time. She must have nine lives, like the proverbial cat! I just hope she continues to improve.