Hello Again

So we haven't been that great about updating with news. We have been traveling over the last few weeks.
Frances handled traveling well. She was tired and is about done resting up.
Before we left, we went to visit a naturalpathic doctor, and she provided more hope that we could have expected. Mom is now starting a treatment to pull metal toxins from her body. The thought is that her and my grandfather both worked with solder at some point allowing for an excess of build up in their bodies.
She has been on the treatment intermittently for the past three weeks - she claims not to feel a difference, however, others have noticed an increase in facial expression, an improvement in her feet, and it seems as though the falls are decreasing - and possibly balance increasing.
Soon I hope to post pictures of new-home improvements made by dad to help mom adjust to a new place. It's some pretty creative stuff. Hopefully it'll provide some ideas for others.

Our First Weigh-In

So about a month ago we weighed in Frances. We didn't measure the inches just the pounds. I am glad to report that at the weigh in last week, we've already started to see progress in her weight loss.
We are also seeing a great amount of improvement in her flexibility. It's not something that we're seeing when she's walking and putting her full weight on her feet, but when she's on the floor doing exercises, she's doing amazing.
She's still willing to try it all. So here's what we're looking at over the next few weeks:
Exercise: http://www.cnsonline.org/www/archive/parkins/park-03.html
Diet: http://www.dadamo.com/knowbase/newbie/1.htm
Hopefully, we'll start looking at fun stuff over the next few weeks, as well. Again, we'll keep you posted!

Floor Exercises

So over the last few weeks as the weather cools, we haven't been going to the pool as much. The water is getting chilly - and morning comes early almost every day now. We've started to get together to do excercises in the living room. These are exercises that could be done alone, but sometimes it's hard to push yourself farther without someone watching.
The goal in our workouts is not only to lose weight but to also increase flexibility and strength. In this last week, we progressed from all motions and exercises (including getting on the floor and getting up) being difficult and not really hitting the targeted muscle to having that burning sensation in a muscle when it's working hard. I count this as great progress.
We're attempting to do weigh-ins once a week or every other week. I will you keep you posted on the weight loss and the mobility.
I am so proud of Frances. She is applying herself during our times together and even on our off days. There was a day when she wouldn't even want to try for fear of failure. We have learned not to say "I can't" and to say "I'll try" or "That's the best I can do right now."
We're doing good.

Wheel size DOES matter!

We live in Texas - and here everyone always touts that bigger is better. Now admittedly this is not always true, however in the case of Frances' walker wheels, this is true.

She uses a chair that looks like this right now:

Before she used this chair though she was using one that had 8" inch front wheels. We have come to the conclusion that the 8" inch wheels provide better balance and stability. Her falls have increased drastically in the few weeks she's had this chair with the same size wheels. Grant it, some of that comes from relying on the chair when she shouldn't - but she was able to rely on the one with larger wheels.

I would also like to add, that we love this style chair. I had never seen anything like it before. It has great turning ability, a breaking system to slow her down or stop and a seat with a storage box under it. This allows her to use it in restuarants and not worry about what to do with a walker - she just sits on it.

Anyway, this may be old news to some, but it's new news to us.

Hello World!

So I'm just going to start this blog... I had all these great ideas of writing out and sharing who we are, what we've been through and what's going on right now.
However, the reality is - life is going to pass this all by if I wait till I have all my words together.
Let me start at the beginning, and then hopefully as the posts continue you will get to know me and my family better.
My name is Emily. My mother, Frances, was diagnosed with Parkinsons almost two years ago - Nov 2007. This is a blog about what's going on in our lives. Progression, struggles, battle.
Four months ago Frances and my dad moved about an hour south of me - which was closer than the 16 hours they were before. About two months ago, at the beginning of July we started to work out together - Frances and myself. We started in the pool because she was having a lot of troubles with balance, probably falling about once a day.
As we are anticipating cooler weather, we are starting to experiment with new types of work outs. She is doing a home video directed toward people with Parkinsons. This past week, we started doing floor work outs at home. We are up to about three times a week. Frances is showing some progress. Nothing huge yet, but progress. She is falling less frequently - was down to just once a week for a while there and even then the falls were minor with her recovering quickly.
This past week, moving indoors has slowed us down a little. We are taking it one day at a time, and hope to continue to share our progress with you. We would love to hear your feedback, suggestions, and of course encouragement for Frances is always welcome!