What Does Quality of Life Really Mean?

I looked for the definition of Quality of Life in about ten sources and they all were different and complicated. They were as varied as are you happy with a bunch of numbers and asterisks to a twenty page treatise. Maybe it’s like Parkinson’s where no two people have the same symptoms. I do know that I’m supposed to be aware that Parkinson’s can negatively affect your Quality of Life. If QoL is individual, then it’s like the actualization of things I wanted to be doing or continue doing at this time in my life. Perhaps a new bucket list of things I wanted to do at this point in my life?

Traveling

Travel has always been a big part of our lives and a big part of what we planned to do. I liked travel because I learned from it. I hated travel because of the mobs of tourists. If Parkinson’s and my kidney failure have totally halted foreign travel, how can I travel? Through documentaries. Documentaries are so much better than that stuff we used to watch in school. We had envisioned visiting some of the palaces and castles in England as part of some tour. Turns out there’s a series called “Secrets of The National Trust” that provides inside, behind the ropes views and stories of the previous occupants that you would never get if you showed up as part of a tour. Missing the local cuisine? Plan a menu. Want to know about the architecture? There’s a series that takes you from the sewers to the rooftops. For me, it’s not like physical travel, but in several ways virtual travel offers more. Not traveling is a debit to my QoL, virtual travel is an addition to my current QoL.

Dining with Parkinson's

Dining out was always an enjoyable part of our social and family life. Parkinson’s became an inhibitor for several reasons. I knew I would inevitably spill something just as every one at the table was looking at me or my voice was so quiet that no one could hear me and, the worst, I always felt everyone was looking at me. I started going to restaurants less and less. A big debit to my QoL! Then I read a tough love article. Unless you’ve grown horns or are wearing a halo, no one is staring at you. They’re more likely to be staring at their cell phones. If people can’t hear you or understand you, get a speech therapist and do the work. Everybody spills. We're multitasking, eating, talking, moving our hands and maneuvering food from plate to mouth. Tell your waiter to bring you several additional napkins. Make your likely spilling a game and your spilling the focus. Announce a prize for the person whose guess is the closest to your actually spilling red wine on your white shirt. Bring your weighted utensils. Order something you’re less likely to spill. In this case, my concerns about eating out lead to my not eating out and the concerns were not real. With some trepidation, I started going out to eat more often. No big deal.

Quality of life for me

I am finding ways to continue doing things I like and finding ways to do things I have wanted to do. The bucket list helps me choose my next action. So far, I’ve been able to do things that are least a version of the intended task. Not doing it equals a debit to my Quality of Life and finding a way to do it is an addition to my Quality of Life. Pretty simplistic but simple is easier than hard for me these days.