Eating Out

Going out to eat is a leading social activity, but for someone living with Parkinson’s it can become a little daunting. Self-conscious of bad posture and poor walking, shuffling as if 100 years old, it may be just in my imagination but it’s as if all eyes are upon me. Eating proves difficult and trying to choose something from the menu that requires little dexterity, finger food being the first choice, where a knife and fork can be politely discarded. I used to love going out, but these days it’s a different story. Just getting showered, dressed, doing my hair and make-up, takes every ounce of energy. This is not counting the emotional energy required when going out. I can spot someone with Parkinson’s a mile off, and no doubt I stick out in the same way to fellow sufferers, with those familiar tell-tale signs we all come to recognise.

I was taken out recently for lunch to a nearby café and was amused to read the rather imaginative menu. There was a “Snow White Salad” and a different salad named after each of the seven dwarfs. A “happy salad” sounded positively inviting, and I would have happily ordered it. However, I don’t think the “sneezy salad” would evoke the same reaction, and I wondered if the chef added a secret ingredient I’d rather not know about. I wonder if this is the least ordered dish on their menu? Likewise the sandwiches also bore names of well-loved characters from children’s fairy tales, and we ordered a Pinocchio and rather fitting, yes you guessed it........a Geppetto sandwich!