What is loss?

Having to deal with loss is a painful process, and one that cannot be hurried. Each person is individual, and every situation is different. We all have ways of coping, but sadly there are those who do not have the necessary tools and like an ostrich spend a lifetime with their heads buried in the sand. Facing loss straight on is not pleasant or easy, taking great strength and courage to move on with one’s life, despite the sad situation. One normally associates “loss” with someone dear passing away. Although without doubt, death is by far the worst form of “loss”, it is not the only one. In the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of “loss” is: the fact or process of losing something or someone. The loss I speak of today is the loss of dignity, independence, and the life one had hoped for. When diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I was well aware of what lay ahead, the various stages which await me, I take pains to be well versed with the disease and the symptoms I encounter; one could hardly say I’m in denial. Yet each time I am faced with another loss, I have to muster up every ounce of emotional energy to accept the ever changing limitations of my situation. This “loss” naturally affects my husband and daughter, as although I am thankfully very much still here, they have lost parts of the former wife and mother who would once walk the dog for hours, be as quick as a flash in the kitchen, full of energy and vigour, like a dynamic energiser bunny I only knew one speed, and that was “fast”!