Learning about Waterpolo and Parkinson's- what a trip!

Just about the time I started feeling the first effects of PD, I started feeling the effects of waterpolo (WP). My three oldest kids all played WP in highschool. My oldest, Nichole, introduced our family to it. She was tough as nails and throughout highschool and beyond she showed any male intrusion in her world just how tough she was thanks to WP. She endured the game through illness and my divorce, earning the 'Most Inspirational Player' Award from her coach. I learned a few tiny elements of the game with her two years of the game; spent some cold mornings, warm afternoons, and had my first heart palpitation when looking at the price tag on my first WP approved swimsuit purchase. I also learned a WP player, a girl player, was not fully initiated until her first suit ripping ordeal under the water!! Oh brother! Or should I say, oh sister! Where did the sugar and spice and everything nice go? It definately was buried in the water during WP games. Luckily, it is back. Nichole is as sweet as ever unless you walk onto her carpet with shoes....then you see her semi-sweet/clean part. Is that like semi-sweet chocolate chips? I think it is. She loves chocolate...! During college years she challenged some unsuspecting guys who happened to be at the pool to a game of WP. They eagerly accepted and were brutally taught a lesson; never mess with a girl who has been taught well in a pool of tough girls that there is nothing tougher. A solace to my worried mother mind was the day she met the man who loved her 'tough' and let it be. They are now married.

A few years went by and daughter #2, Clair, eagerly took up the sport, although, for another highschool. We had moved and I had remarried. Nevertheless, another adventure was I in store for. This time, my PD was more evident. I had not received a diagnosis or treatment yet. I painstakingly tried to remember when the games were, how much the swimming suits cost (more than the first time!), and how I was going to get through it with a 2 year old. We also had a new addition to our family, my 3rd daughter, Ariana. Needless to say, these years are a little more fuzzy. I hid most of it from my kids, except my 2 year old, who was always with me. I spent days on the couch, depressed, crying, not knowing what was happening to my body. When the older kids got home from school, I would try my best to be their normal mom. It worked for a while.
Clair was also a tough, competitor in the pool. I was beginning to see that my girls were very resilient and I was happy to live a 'healthy body' and athletic experience through them. I traveled to every game I could; around town, from school to school, learning the best place to park and sit to accomodate my slow, clumsy body and to keep my little one from jumping into the pool. I managed to witness some great plays, scoring and lots of 'Clair' personality during her games. I think her coach didn't quite know what to do with her because she learned the game better than he did. She has always been 'the leader' of any group and this was no different. She gave it all she had. During her senior year she gave it up to be editor of the school newspaper.

During Clair's tenure as a varsity player, my son, Cody, also discovered WP. She urged him over from football; a sport that was quickly going to ruin his 'flat' feet. She was a sophomore, he was a freshman. The football team chided him for giving in to a 'weaker' sport. Boy were they in for a rude awakening. During Cody's four years in highschool and his constancy in WP he was transformed from somewhat (somewhat, I say) shy, short, a little pudgy around the middle, and unfulfilled in a favorite sport.... to being the popular, handsome athlete, tall, strong and buff and an impressive, skilled WP player. I still struggled to get to all their games; endured thunderstorms, migraines from too much sun, exhaustion at times keeping up with their schedules. And now I had a 4 year old that hated WP games. Eventually I found sitters for most of the games during their last 2 years of high school. I also missed many games during this time because I was just too sick. But I was determined to look, sit, scream, and cheer like every other parent or spectator. So I worked on it. I carried an umbrella to shade the scorching, California sun. When it was cold, I brought a blanket and a bag of jackets, snacks and water for my 4 year old and to keep my strength up during the game. I would marvel at the healthy bodies playing this rugged game. It took all my strength just to watch it. It was my priority now. The day of a game I prepared myself and did nothing else so I would have the strength to 'not miss it'. I knew all too soon it would be over; these precious years with my WP loving kids would be over.

Clair and Cody were kind of a brother/sister WP icon in our community and I was so pleased with their achievements. They overcame personal obstacles to play WP, not an easy sport; each earning special awards for their perserverant contributions to the team.

Cody went on to play for our junior college being named 'All American' during his second season. Clair married a wonderful man who, during his highschool years(actually Clair's rival school), also played , guess what?....WP!

I spent nearly ten years attending WP games from Modesto to LA to the Bay Area. I went from no PD , through the hellish battle with the 'unknown' and then a diagnosis, small improvements, setbacks, healthier days, more setbacks, never giving up so my kids could have the memories of a mom who was there, watching, filming, sharing, supporting their dreams and accomplishments. There was more than a few days when I wanted to give up but I didn't because they needed me to be there and I needed them to succeed in spite of having a sick mom.

We all made it through. Nichole and Clair, married. Cody, an adult man ( I just still cannot believe it sometimes.) working toward a great future. Me, healthier now than then; still struggling, still have PD, but stronger. These memories are my healing balm, my happy place when I need one. Life goes on....this- my unique, marvelous life that has been indellibly marked by the sport of WP, three brilliant Waterpolo players, and a strange disease called Parkinson's.

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note* Check back on this post in a few more days when I'll have pictures added!