Ever more therapy

JON: One highlight of the week was our third visit to the Parkinson’s centre, where our coordinator gave us feedback from our previous two visits. Much advice had of course already been given by the experts, but the coordinator told us that there would be follow-ups with

1 A psychiatrist and a psychologist who work together and who would help to ‘coach’ me (whatever that means!) in the process of developing a life after work but with Parkinson’s.

2 An ergo-therapist (that’s an occupation therapist to you and me) who will come to our home and teach me how to cook and tie my shoelaces and other useful things that I’ve learnt at least once already but now need to re-learn in a new step-by-step approach that avoids my big issues with multi-tasking.

3 A physiotherapist – actually, this will be the woman I have been seeing for the last year or so, but the centre will suggest various adjustments to the therapy and will also encourage home visits as that can apparently be much more useful.

I am amazed at the lengths to which these people will go to help me. I rather doubt that an NHS ergo- or physiotherapist would make many home visits. Nor, I am reliably informed, should I expect this ultra-high level of service if/when we move to Denmark (though I can certainly expect better than the threadbare NHS). So I am ‘enjoying’ it while it lasts and getting as much benefit as I possibly can.

The other highlight of the week was an invasion by Marie’s nephews (10-year-old twin boys) and Marie’s sister without whom the visit would have brought us to our knees. I have a only distant memory of what 10-year-old boys are like (since my son is now 28-ish). The boys were in fact very well behaved, but the energy they expended was just phenomenal. I spent much of my time hiding in the bedroom with my radio (internet radio being a great boon to the expat community), mainly emerging for meals and the occasional sedentary game, all of which I duly lost as any good uncle should (though I managed to do so without actually trying).