Whenever we visit my elderly relative in the care home, and the weather being suitable enough, we take her downstairs to have a nice cup of coffee out on the patio which has a pleasant view of the garden. She enjoys the sounds of birds and the beautifully colored flowers and plants.

There are a number of older folk living there with various levels of one or the other ailment. A large majority have to be pushed around in wheelchairs, and sometimes you see someone walking along slowly using a wheeled walker.

On this occasion, there was an older man scuffling along the garden path which is made of gravel and is circular in shape. The path takes you along the perimeter of the garden with a total length of some thirty meters.

For whatever reason, this older man kept moving faster and faster. As he picked up sufficient pace, his legs seems to go out of control, propelling him at a pretty significant running speed. Indeed, his body had acquired youthful energy, and he was jogging along like someone half of his age.

At first I just thought that he was exercising extra hard, after being cooped up all day inside of his room. But it soon became apparent that he could not keep up with his quickly shuffling legs, and he launched himself onto the patio about to hit a table. Fortunately there was another person sitting there and she caught him by the arm just in time. Whew, that was a close one. His right right arm was bleeding slightly due to his brushing violently along the bushes during the final lap.

I learned later that this behavior is a common syndrome of people suffering from Parkinson's disease. The trembling of extremities sometimes gets triggered and turns into more violent synchronized motions. In the case of the old man, his shaking legs went into turbo mode and sped him along like a unmanned projectile. Getting faster and faster until disaster was ready to strike.

Let's not forget to be thankful for our good health now. Appreciate life to its utmost while you can.