25: When my mum was diagnosed with Parkinson

Welcome to Woman Leadership show. I'm Janet and in this episode, I will be sharing with you about my struggles when my mum was diagnosed with Parkinson. I first noticed my mum’s shaking of right  hand in 2015 when we went on a Royal Carribean cruise for 5 days.   She mentioned it just started and I assumed is the same as my late grandfather and she just need to do hand massage using balls or stretching. Few months later she told me it was Parkinson disease and it would take about 5 years for her to start deteriorating till the state where she will eb bed ridden. My mum has always been very independent and will find ways to solve her health problems such as changing of diet, going for Chinese medical treatment and reading health books. I assumed she knew what to do and so I did not pay much attention to the condition. I was then new in my job and was very busy with managing teams and working in the evenings, weekends and even public holidays.  She told me that she wanted to travel more before her condition deterioriate but I was not able to quit my job or took leave to go with her.  She mentioned will go with my uncle so I thought she has her own arrangements.  However this though kept coming to my mind about travelling with her. After about a year later, I managed to have time to make an overseas trip with her to Canada and Alaska cruise and that was our last trip before she passed away. During the trip, I realized her condition has deteriorated and had difficulty going to restroom and body will become very stiff. I would have to remind her to do the massages or do it for her. At times, she has to be on wheelchair for movement. She was not able to travel out at the cruise and so she stayed on the cruise. Resting in her cabin. One year later, she had a bad fall and that caused her to be bedridden and required a helper to attend to her. She was staying with my grandmother and so we required 1 helper to take care each of them. It was not easy for my mum to get along with the helper as she got upset with them about their own expectations of what they need to do. Takeaway
Make time for our family members before they are no longer with us or vice versa. Those became memories but they stayed with me for a lifetime.  Money can always earned back but family member once lost will not come back.  This also got me to remind hubby to spend more time with his parents and we will also schedule time to spend with children at least once a month doing an activity together as now they have many activities during weekends. On weekends, we will get together and watch a movie together so we get to bond together. Do not wait for things to happen but start to look for solutions before it get worse . I likes to spend less on things but more on creating memories and experience such as travel, doing activities together and travel as a family. I hope that through my sharing, it draws inspiration and personal reflection for you. I believe every woman can be a leader in your own way.  I look forward to seeing you in my next episode where I will be sharing with you tips and ways to realize your full potential as a leader on Woman Leadership.