My name is Kristina Löfdahl and I’m 58 years old. I was born in Umeå, Sweden but I have been living in Gothenburg since 1958. This is a little story about me and my fight against Parkinson’s, and my determination not to give in.
I have been married for nearly 30 years and have two grown-up sons. I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1998 but had been sick for several years before. It began as it often does with the left arm, a tremor and an aching shoulder and neck. The doctors thought that, as I was an artist, spending a lot of time in a static position was causing my problems. Nobody even considered that it could be neurological, even though I suspected it might be. It took a long time for the doctors to diagnose me correctly.
At that time, it was terrifying for me to think about the future, because the only thing I knew about Parkinson’s was what I read in the leaflet I picked up in the pharmacy. It showed an old man bent and very sick, walking with small and shuffling steps. I also thought that I would only live for ten years and had visions of me sitting in a wheelchair unable to take care of myself. But after a little while I decided to fight back.
Firstly I began to train my body so I wouldn’t get any worse and would hopefully get better. I decided to learn to drive before I was too ill to learn and at the same time I took up golfing lessons so that I could play golf with my husband.
I had this great urgency and felt that there was little time left for me so I worked more and more on my paintings and arranged a lot of exhibitions. I had been a professional artist since I finished art school in 1972 and I was successful, so it was devastating to be diagnosed with a neurological illness that could, in all probability, disable me in the near future. But I decided to ignore that.
It is now over ten years since my diagnosis. I still work and train and have taken up Kickboxing to help with my balance. In fact, the only thing I can do without any problems when I am “off” is box and kick. I cannot explain it, but perhaps I am using some part of my brain that controls survival!
I have been playing the piano since I was four years old and continuing to play every day helps my fine movements. I love to dance, especially ballet, but now I need very fast rhythms, especially when I’m “off”. I find ballet naturally easier, but I am dancing for fun now and it helps to keep my body in shape.
I am the administrator on a Web Parkinson’s Forum and working on the computer takes up a lot of my time that can lead to too much inactivity. But it does stimulate my brain and is a very social activity. I also run a non-commercial art gallery by myself. So, even though I have Parkinson’s, I live a very active life in many ways.
I have great determination and have decided to fight against Parkinson’s and control the impact it has on my life and that of my family. I will not give in.
