A Change in Direction Needed
Why had I made this site? Who is supporting it? The information on the site was confusing, too theoretical, too broad in scope. It seems like I am fighting the world alone without any support for doing it. Why don’t I limit it to being just a support site for people with Parkinson’s?
A Rethink Required.
That is a summary of a much longer conversation I had with my friend Rainy. With this she had taken the wind out my sails, I really felt alone in the world. But I have a lot of respect for Rainy’s opinion and said I would have to think about it.
I knew immediately that Rainy was right, although she did not know the full reason. I immediately set about writing a long explanation for the situation – but that was not needed. She had made a valid observation, she did not need yet another long document. Other people that I discussed the problem with, basically agreed with Rainy.
It is clear to me that they were right – in a specific sense. My Parkinson’s has become worse, as was to be expected but I had not realized how limiting it would become, and I have not been able to do much. I have been praying for guidance. Was this God’s answer? It certainly seems so. I started looking at what would it take.
Yes, but…
But I was passionate about the PVS concept that I had been working on and I was loathe to let go of it just like that. So I have decided for now to carry on as I have until I have a clearer understanding of what God wants me to do.
But I will try and address the pressing issues that Rainy had identified in her very thoughtful analysis and phone call. I will work on 1) making the navigation easier to understand. 2) Now that the purpose of the site has been defined more clearly, I will add more marketing, 3) get formal endorsement for the work, from the ministry of health, and Parkinson’s Canada.
Footnote: Who is Rainy anyway? Rainy is a very good friend that I have worked with on many projects such as the Giro di Burnaby.
I had phoned her recently and asked how she was. She mentioned that her mom had moved to a long-term care home, Carlton Gardens. While she was happy that her mom was now being looked after, there were problem areas and she was forming a Family Council as a way of finding solutions. Rainy asked if I would look over the support documents she was using. Of course I agreed, I lived in long-term care myself and if Lorraine was having problems, I would of course help.
I agreed and went over the documentation she sent me. That is how I learned about the Ministry of Health’s new long-term care strategy.
That tied in nicely with a training course that I was developing (it had been part of my passion, the PVS concept) and was now moving it into an online course.
I had previously asked her, and her husband Joe who is extremely handy to help me with the practical aspects of PVS such as developing assistive devices for shooting video from a wheel chair, etc. So now I had asked Rainy if I could “interview” her about her experience with establishing a family council at her mother’s LTC. While I could easily have created a fictitious project, it make the courses more effective if one uses actual projects. She agreed and we did the interview.
Then I asked if she would read a document to see if it made sense. It had nothing to do with her, although it was part of the course that her interview was used in. When I did not get a reply I realized that she did not the background of the course so I sent her some information, too much, and she went tilt – and that gave rise to this page and the Rethink!