Bucket lists and a Parkinson’s diagnosis
With Parkinson’s disease, your entire mindset changes. Sometimes that change includes a “bucket list.”
As immortality stares you in the face, perhaps for the first time, there’s a realignment of priorities and resources.
For me, some of those priorities have been deeply personal. Others are more – shall we say – light and fluffy.
One of those lighter priorities is attention to my own bucket list.
How ‘bucket lists’ became a thing
Bucket lists became popular after the release of the 2007 movie “The Bucket List” about two men with terminal cancer who wanted to live life to its fullest before “kicking the bucket.”
Not everyone has such a list, but many people at least have some goals or wishes for their lives.
The current adventure-travel trend has added gusto to the concept.
In a 2018 survey ranking the most common items on people’s bucket lists, the desire to travel took the top spot. It was followed closely by the desire to accomplish a personal goal.
Some people, especially those with degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, may have other priorities as well, like a desire to spend quality time with family and friends (which came in at No. 4).
Watching the disease chase them, and knowing that their time to check off bucket list items is more limited, they might feel some urgency.
A friend of mine who also has Parkinson’s recently told me that since her diagnosis, she feels she has to hurry more, cram her schedule, make more plans.
Otherwise, she says, she wouldn’t “fit everything in” that she wants to do before her health declines and she can’t do them anymore.
I’ve felt that too. Some days I’m wall-to-wall scheduled, with a big to-do list and literally no downtime.
After those kinds of days, I pay for it when the stress monster visits, keeping me from sleeping well and sending my Parkinson’s symptoms into overdrive.
Plan for the future? Ha!
For those living with Parkinson’s there are practical concerns, too. For me, an example is that I can’t really plan for the future anymore.
That’s because I don’t know what’s in my future. I don’t know what I’ll be capable of doing in 10 years, or even five or two.
I can map out a summer road trip, or get a flight for a niece’s wedding in a few months. But plan for the long haul? Daunting. Even perilous.
Of course, people who do not have a debilitating disease don’t know exactly what’s in store for them either.
This old saying still applies for all of us: “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”
Knowing what I know, I’ve got my bucket list sitting on a prominent shelf in my mind. Swiss Alps, I’m lookin’ at you.
Do you have a bucket list? I’d love to see what is on it! Add a comment below.
Reference
Vyjeyanthi S. Periyakoil, Eric Neri, and Helena Kraemer. Common Items on a Bucket List. Journal of Palliative Medicine. May 2018. 652-658. http:/ /doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2017.0512
Photo credits: Francesco Ungaro, Javon Swaby, Julie Aagaard, Donald Giannatti, Sebastian Pena Lambarri
We spent 3 weeks hiking in the Swiss alps last summer – amazing!
I’d love to hear more about it!
A great reflection. And a great teaser too!!!!
Based on your limited tiMe, do you find your “to do” lists take precedence over the lists of those around you (e.g. spouse, kids)?
Such an important question. Many of the goals I set do affect people close to me. In theory I could say to my friends/loved ones: “My ‘good’ years are fewer than yours so let’s prioritize my things.” Such “pulling the Parkinson’s card” can be helpful in some areas of life, but in this case it wouldn’t feel right. If there’s a way for me and the people around me to align at least a portion of our ambitions, that’s ideal. Otherwise, there has to be compromise, give-and-take, even sacrifice. Easier said than done.