The wonderful wonkiness of the Parkinson’s world

How life with Parkinson’s has led to a whole new vocabulary.

Welcome to the wonky world of PD. Everything in the world of Parkinson's is a bit unpredictable, a bit unbalanced, a bit on the edge, a bit at a jaunty angle. Things spill, things (and people) fall over, things get dropped, and there are lots of whoopsie-trippy-slippy-dippy moments. The trick is to embrace these wonky moments, or, if you can't fully do that, then at least try to accept that this wonkiness is part of life with Parkinson's.

Time for a new vocabulary

Enter to the verb 'to wonk'

You are familiar with the adjective 'wonky,' however life with Parkinson's has led to the creation in our house of the related verb. The verb 'to wonk' means to break something, bend something or knock something over, as in the cry, 'Oh no, I wonked it!' as a glass falls off the edge of a table or, 'I'm totally wonked!' uttered by your PWP as he collapses in a heap after doing too much in the kitchen or walking too far on the beach. It's a lovely, gentle, friendly word that helps to dissipate some of the stress that can come with these moments. It's a word we associate with Parkinson's and as such it helps to shift the blame that might arise as items fall or break or bounce in unexpected ways at inconvenient times, or your partner is suddenly unable to continue and has to stop and recharge. These things can be frustrating, but if we can attribute them to the 'wonkiness' of Parkinson's we stay closer to a place of kindness and compassion - for ourselves as well as for our PWP. (See post 'Blame it on Mr P.')

Gradual change

Life at a jaunty angle

As time has gone on, Euan has become slower and stiffer and his posture has started to droop. These changes can cause issues with balance and the increased likelihood of falling - your PWP could become seriously 'wonked' if they fall over or trip. Postural change will cause a shift of eye level and change of perspective which can create day-to-day challenges - I often fall foul of this, assuming Euan can see the same version of a view as me, and this particular wonkiness can lead to confusion and frustration for both of us. There is an advantage though - I can now easily hide the chocolate biscuits on the top shelf of the fridge as it is no longer in Euan's sight line....Sssh! Don't tell him!

Glasses, mugs, bowls, plates - these, too, will start to live life at a jaunty angle, so be prepared for slops and spillages. Strangely, glasses and cups will also often end up right in the edge of a bench or table, thus rendering them vulnerable to a tumble - it's a curious feature of the spatial tricks that PD can play, and yet again the potential for a bit of domestic stress.

I need to put on my 'wonky glasses' and see the world through a PD lens

Learning to live life at a jaunty angle and embrace the wonkiness that PD brings is a daily challenge, but slowing down and looking at life from this different place is important - Euan is no longer able to see the world as I see it in a simple physical sense, so I need to be mindful of that and try to remember to put on my 'wonky glasses' each day and see the world through that PD lens as best I can.