If you ask me how my husband is doing, I can respond immediately with details about his treatment and his current condition. Ask me the same thing about myself and chances are you will get a simple “fine”. I don’t intentionally ignore my own health, I just don’t always remember how important it is in relation to what my husband is facing. My minor challenges seem so insignificant compared to what Parkinson’s brings to him, I tend to stuff them away rather than deal with them. My life has become secondary to his because somewhere I got the idea that this is how it needs to be.

The reality of being a CarePartner is that if I am feeling at all under the weather, I cannot provide the level of care that is needed. So, when I ignore pain in my joints or mild headaches, I am not only hurting myself, I am also hurting him by not being fully here for him. I am also putting us both at risk because one of us needs to be fully functioning at all times to keep us healthy and safe. PD impacts his functionality so I need to make sure that I don’t let anything impact mine.

As CarePartners, we often have conversations about how to motivate our People with Parkinson’s to take care of themselves through exercise and diet but how many of us take those messages to heart? One of the benefits of my husband’s diagnosis is that we are both exercising more now and we are both more aware of what healthy living looks like, not that I always do it. I need to keep an awareness of my own care and be as diligent about how I treat my body as I expect him to be about his. Staying active through exercise, choosing and eating healthy meals and working to keep my brain sharp makes me the best I can be and that makes me the best CarePartner for my husband.