Category: Parkinson’s disease

silhouette of the face and shoulders of a person of indeterminate gender.

Impostor Syndrome

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in NZLockdown, Parkinson's disease

I think it’s time for a little honesty. For a start off, I’ve recently been described as a blogger. Well, that would be great, but it’s hardly true. I’m not nearly dedicated enough to write almost half as often as I should. Second, stereo-typically I’m a tortured soul. Many of us are. But this time I’m finding more torturous than usual. Quite frankly, I’m not coping very well with the current lockdown in NZ. I know I’m not alone. We’ve all learned to Zoom / Skype / Facebook chat / Hangout but let’s be honest, it’s nothing like the real thing. Some of us have flouted rules and accidentally seen our friends at the beach or the supermarket car park. We’ve kept the prerequisite distance, but it’s still so odd to not be able to be close to our friends. We’re social creatures. It’s tough to stay home. My housework has taken off, the garden is looking fabulous. The children are playing heaps of games together. I’ve even exercised daily, thanks to the awesome local gym owner who loaned me some equipment just before everything ground to a halt. But I feel kind of desolate. Kind of strange and disconnected. […]

image of kitty in a red hat in a field of sunflowers.

Just Another Person With Parkinson’s

Posted kitty3 CommentsPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker

This week I completed a set of questions for Parkinson’s Life magazine. It got me thinking about how people perceive those with Parkinson’s Disease.   My talks cover that off too of course, and it’s something I’ve pondered myself. I sometimes wonder what my friends truly think of this, and my efforts to continue life as normally as possible. I know some of them think I’m crazy. Some of them think I’m deluded and I’ll drop dead early, and some of them think it’s great and I’m going to be just fine regardless of my affliction. In the end it doesn’t really matter what any of them think. This is ultimately my fight, my battle. Not only physically, but mentally. It would be oh so easy to simply give in. Instead I’m at the gym most days, and despite my fear of falling over my own feet, today I have vowed to get out and go running again. Stealth Fighter I hate running. But I hate Parkinson’s more. I despise this thing that’s taken me by surprise. Stealthily trying to hold me back, contain my body and with it, my spirit and drive to succeed. I hate going to the gym, […]

kitty in a floral dress speaking to an audience of people.

Don’t Panic!

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, Uncategorized

Crowding In I had the absolute pleasure of speaking at the Combined Probus Club of Kapiti today , and what a wonderful group of people they are. They certainly turned up in force, over one hundred and forty people packed into the lounge area of the Coast Community Church building to hear what I had to say. No Pressure It’s sometimes daunting to speak to a large number, especially when you are aware that some of them suffer from the very affliction that you’re there to impart your wisdom on, but I love what I do, and was determined to not allow the words of Keith who introduced me, put me off. What lovely words too, he described me as “the most amazing woman I have ever met, aside from my wife of course!” High praise indeed. No pressure. Added to that his wife has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s for about six years, and he has a degree in neuro-science. Did I mention there was no pressure?! Flying High They laughed, they groaned, they gave me the most wonderful feedback. I appear to be collecting gift boxes too. I received a beautiful Kapiti Goodies box, I’m sure that will go […]

image of kitty smiling into the camera with red flowers in the background.

Recovered

Posted kitty1 CommentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker, Uncategorized

Holidays Are For: Ah. Public holidays. When the nice thing to do is visit a park with your family, do something lovely or just spend time together. We spent time together. Sorting laundry, ironing and catching up on housework. Nobody ever lay on their death bed and lamented they didn’t spend more time cleaning, but it is nice to have a shiny house. Scouting Strife I also had a word with myself and realised it had been just a tiny bit longer than a month since my last blog post. So much for monthly. Though to be fair, I’ve had a double birthday, Christmas, the 22nd Scout Jamboree and a family camping trip to contend with. You don’t want to go camping a few days after you’ve spent eleven days camping with 3,500 Scouts. Just saying. Trust me on that one. The holiday was fun but fraught with issues such as “I’m really tired.” And I was delighted to see my own bed again. Sweat It Baby I also made it back to the gym, which was great. I think. Only I could spend 12 months at the gym and not actually look any better. I think there’s a lesson […]

an unmade bed with a white quilt in a dim room.

Friday Musing

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in Parkinson's disease

It’s the first Friday back in NZ. I never thought I would be so delighted to see our (not so) little yellow house and my own bed. The realities of being apart from half of our whanau for so long were brutally painful. Mr 12, a real homebody, missed his siblings and father far more than he thought, Miss 14 said she always felt something was missing, and I struggled to hold them all together and positive. However, the biggest thing I realised I missed has been my exercise. Trapped in tiny houses, not the fashionable ones, the ones they have in the UK (and for some reason stuff to the gills with pointless unused furniture), I found it nigh on impossible to find the room to even take two steps, never mind my physio routine for my Parkinson’s. Coming back I realise my arm feels more like a dead weight than ever and I’m dragging my leg more easily. Back to the gym with me later today, hoping a return to my usual 4 times a week routine of basically almost anything strenuous will help me return to a better, fitter me. A Teaspoon of Sugar? Mr 14 remarked […]

Not the Funniest Jokes

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in comedy, Parkinson's disease

Goodness it’s been a funny week. As in, strange, as in, not comedic. I had a spot at the Cavern Club’s open mic night, at which I planned to perform some new material I’d been working on. I was a little reticent. This material was going to be different. I had finally written about living with Parkinson’s Disease. How do you turn a disabling disease into a set of six-minute funny jokes? Not always the easiest thing to do. Still, with a sprinkling of Kitty magic and a lot of perseverance I like to think I pulled it off. Just enough of the serious mixed in with the hilarity that has come to be my life. A Dark Turn But there were some others talking about something that I found very uncomfortable. Should there be limits to what we deem acceptable? I mean, I understand that this was an open mic night and you can expect anything, but where do you the draw the line? I wasn’t going to a Frankie Boyle gig – in fact, as a comedian you’re warned not to be offensive by the venue. However: some people were talking about suicide. Topical? Yes. Appropriate? I don’t […]

motivational meme that reads "Push yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you."

Onward and Upward

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker

Success isn’t something that’s handed to you on a plate. And becoming a keynote speaker, booked throughout New Zealand, Australia and who know where isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. However, hard work and persistance is what’s required, and if there was ever a woman for the job, it’s me. I went back to work this week and it’s been tough. My husband was still on holiday, but alas, there is no such things for us stay at home parents. And for people like me, who are also trying to break into the motivational speaking market, it can be tough going. Add to that the New Year cliche of a new gym subscription and you have the recipie for lots of hard work. However, hard work is something I’ve never shied away from. And my Yorkshire roots mean I’m anything but a walkover. I’m a typical strong-minded Northern woman. (Can I still call myself a girl at forty-something?) And true to form, I made a list, picked through the most important bits and sent some emails. And got myself a booking. I shall be speaking in Lower Hutt on the 25th February, which gives me about five weeks to […]

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Professional Speaking Resolutions 101

Posted kittyLeave a commentPosted in motivational, Parkinson's disease, public speaker

Kia ora and welcome to a new year. A time to make resolutions and fail at them. So let’s try to make them realistic. Personally, I’ve been promising to write more on my blog here at kittyfitton.com so let’s see how long I can keep this up. This year is going to be about me. And realising my goal to become a professional public speaker. I’ve spoken at a number of events and places, and very much enjoyed sharing my story and helping to motivate and encourage other people. And because I enjoyed the process of presenting so much, I realised I should turn the negative of my Parkinson’s Disease into something that would instead be a positive. A change for good. Something to help others by. And so begins my quest to become great at professional public speaking. I called a National Speaking group in Auckland and received some excellent advice there. “If you want to be a concert pianist, you have to learn to play” I was told. Go forth and speak. Talk to groups in and around your area and hone your skills. So that is exactly what I’ll do. I’m quite lucky I suppose, I’ve always […]