The Other Side: A Registered Nurse’S Experience as a Parkinson’S Patient

By Maria Netta

When Maria gets a job at Anthonys donut and coffeehouse in New York City, shes thrilled to be working.

Things change quickly when she falls in love with Anthony, a married (and much older) man and father. Even though Maria is a woman of good morals she cant get Anthony out of her system. She knows right from wrong, but she is mesmerized by him and cant let go.

After Maria gets pregnant and has Anthonys baby, she moves everything she owns into his place, a low-rent apartment that is infested with cockroaches and mice. She couldnt be happier: Shes seventeen and finally has her man.

The couple eventually get married and have three more children, but that doesnt stop Anthony from gambling and chasing other women. Through it all, Maria finishes her education to become a Registered Nurse, and works hard to support her children.

When Maria finally realizes Anthony will never change, the two separate, then shortly afterwards she begins suffering neurological symptoms, and she discovers she has early-onset Parkinsons.

Just like that, she must start dealing with life as a patient on The Other Side.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jul 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491768402

Maria Netta

Maria Netta has spent time as both a nurse and a patient, and she examines how different it is playing each role in this honest account of dealing with Parkinson’s disease.

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Copyright © 2015 Maria Netta.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4917-6818-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-6840-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015908356

iUniverse rev. date: 06/18/2015

CONTENTS

PART 1. The Early Beginnings of a Nurse in the Making

Chapter 1 The Beginning

Chapter 2 The Shock of My Life

Chapter 3 Moving Day

Chapter 4 Dad’s Battle and Eric’s Fight for Life

Chapter 5 My Lifelong Dream

Chapter 6 Having My Fourth Child

Chapter 7 The Passing of a Great Man

Chapter 8 Our Family Trip to Holland and Italy

Chapter 9 The Unforeseen Day

Chapter 10 A Single Mom and Depression

Chapter 11 The Day I Fell in Love Again

Chapter 12 The Shock of My Life

Chapter 13 What Was Wrong With Me?

Chapter 14 The Dreaded Follow-Up

Chapter 15 The Nonproposal

Chapter 16 Rebecca, My Rock

Chapter 17 Our Decision to Go with It

Chapter 18 Becoming a Nurse Facilitator

Chapter 19 Eric’s Depression

Chapter 20 The Blended Family

Chapter 21 Off to Chile

Chapter 22 Who Will Be My Voice

Chapter 23 Giving It All I’ve Got

Chapter 24 My Family: The Most Incredible People in My Life

Chapter 25 We Live and Learn

Chapter 26 I Am So Much More Than My Disease

Chapter 27 What They Don’t Know

Chapter 28 Sick Days

Chapter 29 That’s What Friends Are For

Chapter 30 Back to the Grind

Chapter 31 All Eyes on Me

Chapter 32 Mind, Body, and Soul

Chapter 33 And Life Goes On

Chapter 34 One Thing Led to Another

Chapter 35 God Be with Us

The Early Beginnings of a Nurse in the Making

CHAPTER 1

The Beginning

When I first went to Anthony’s donut and coffeehouse in New York City, home of melt-in-your-mouth donuts that were always warm and fresh, I asked my server if they were hiring. She walked in the back, to the kitchen, where the tasty delights were baked and decorated. A few minutes later, she returned. The boss says he’ll be happy to interview you now, she said. I walked into the back and applied for a position as a waitress. I was fifteen at the time, but I told Anthony, the boss, that I was sixteen in the hopes that it would help me land the job. I was wearing a little bright white dress, and my long hair flowed down past my shoulders. Anthony had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was very serious when I first met him; little did I know that he was actually quite the comedian. I worked many hours at the donut shop, and I learned a lot working almost full-time hours. In time, they trusted me to ice the donuts and even prepare the dough. I was independent and loving it.

One evening, while I was icing a fresh batch in the back, Anthony walked up behind me and tried to kiss me. I was still very naive and did not know what to do about my boss trying to force himself on me. I was scared but did not tell anyone what was going on. I tried to avoid going in the back by myself, for fear that he might try to attack me again. He was quite persistent, and I was unsure of what action I should take. His urging went on for months, and I eventually complied with his wishes and kissed him back. Initially, I felt no attraction to him whatsoever. Shortly thereafter, though, I began having feelings for the man, even though he was twice my age. For some reason, I was very drawn to him. He pushed me to be more and more intimate, and I eventually gave in to all of his requests.

To make matters worse, I was slowly falling in love with a married man, the father of a two-year-old daughter. Whenever I mentioned his wife, he assured me that his marriage meant nothing to him and that I was the one he wanted to be with. He claimed that I was different, so calm, quiet, and caring. I believed him and wanted it all to be true. I knew it was wrong, but my heart had reached the point of no return. I did not want him to go home to his wife; I wanted him all to myself. I was a young woman of good morals and values, but for some reason, my love for him was stronger than that. It consumed me, and he was all I wanted. I could think of nothing but him.

Anthony drove a red car, and I always watched him park when he came in for the night shift. I often worked evenings, so I would always watch out for him. As he came around the corner of the building, our eyes locked, and time stood still in those moments. Anthony was a hard worker who arrived on time and made donuts until the wee hours of the morning. He never took time off and worked every night of the week. As soon as he walked into the store, my heart leaped in my chest. Our passion for each other was euphoric, and we were both like crazy love addicts, out of control and helpless to our obsession with each other.

On Valentine’s Day, Anthony called me to the back and gave me a box. I opened it and found a beautiful gold necklace. He said that he loved the double-heart pendant because it represented his own heart entangled with mine. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever given me, and I was sure he loved me. I could not believe he had chosen such a thoughtful gift just for me, and I wore it every day, as a reminder to myself of the love that we had for each other. It was difficult to hide our affection, but we had no choice, since he was a married man and I was sixteen years his junior. He thought I was a year older, but I dared not tell him the truth, as I didn’t want anything to get in the way of our love affair or his feelings for me.

One day, Anthony said, We never have any time alone. Maybe we should go to a motel to talk.

I thought sure, it would be a great way to finally have his undivided attention and love, so it wasn’t long before I found myself in a dumpy, cheap motel with a married man, a father, a man twice my age. The room reeked of uncleanness and mildew and was furnished with ancient things that looked as if they’d been pulled out of a thrift-store Dumpster. Most people would have no desire to spend any time in such a place, but that motel became a regular spot for our secret rendezvous.

At first, I was naive enough to believe that he just wanted to talk and be close and hold each other, but one thing led to another, and things just happened. Within a short time, Anthony managed to seduce me. I truly was not prepared for that deep intimacy but allowed it to happen. What should have been a sacred, loving moment, my once-in-a-lifetime introduction to physical intimacy, was not the experience I expected. Rather than giving myself to someone mutually in love, Anthony took my virginity, his intention all along.

After we were intimate for the first time, we left the motel. He dropped me off at the bus stop, and we went our separate ways. I was devastated with the abrupt departure and felt ashamed and used. It took me a little while to comprehend what I had allowed him to talk me into. I stood at the bus stop feeling like a fool, realizing that he wanted far more from me than just talking. He had taken what he wanted from me and then callously dropped me off so he could go home to his wife. I was in a state of shock that I just had sex for the first time, and it was a terrible feeling. I was angry with myself and with him. It took me a while to digest it all, and I struggled to forgive him for treating me that way, but soon enough, I was at home dreaming about a man who was not mine. I loved him beyond words, though I couldn’t recall him ever actually saying he loved me.

Anthony made it a habit to drive my sister Ella and me to school each morning. Ella had shoulder-length golden hair that shimmered in the light. She was a shy, studious girl who did very well in school. She was two years older than me, but she didn’t seem as mature and had little insight into what was going on around her. She thought nothing of Anthony offering us rides, as it was on the way for him. My parents were unaware of our chauffeur, as he always waited across the street from our home. They were also unaware that many times, he didn’t take me to school at all.

Often, Anthony dropped me off at the front door of the school, and I would go inside and through the building and meet him in the back so as to fool Ella into thinking I had gone to class. We were very sneaky, and somehow, no one ever found out. For some reason, the Catholic school I attended didn’t follow up and call my parents to inform them of my absence. We always went to the same motel, and I always got away with it. I guess some might have considered me a rebel, but for me, it was truly an act of love, something worth the risk. I believed Anthony loved me too, but I guess I will never truly know.

One of Anthony’s full-time employees, Miranda, called my mom at home and mentioned that she thought there was something going on between the two of us. I was devastated, certain that our relationship was in jeopardy. When my mother asked me about it, I flat out denied it and convinced her it wasn’t so. My mom, protective as she was, went to the donut shop to confront Anthony, and he told her that people were just making judgments and that he would never do such a thing. People are evil and say evil things, he told her. Surprisingly, my mother bought his story, and just like that, we were safe.

I wasn’t sure how it happened, but he finally left his wife and whisked me off to a better motel, one in the city. I was infatuated with the man, even though my parents, family, and friends had no idea I was having an affair with him. After I ran away from home to be with him, Anthony called my mother and told her, I have your daughter, and we are in love. What we did was unbelievable, and it hurt so many people. Thinking back on it, I cannot even imagine how all of it must have affected my parents, and it had to be completely devastating to my family. I was selfish and enthralled with this relationship, so much so that it consumed every part of my being. For me, it was magical, and it felt like true love.

As a teenager, I didn’t really comprehend the magnitude of my behavior. I was sixteen and felt my parents had no authority to make me come back home. My dad even told me at one point that he had hired a motorcycle gang to break Anthony’s legs, but his common sense kicked in, and he aborted that mission. It was a bit shocking, but any good father would have done the same thing, knowing that a thirty-two-year-old was taking advantage of his little girl.

I was very innocent and had no idea about relationships, intimacy, or men in general. My parents never talked about intimacy openly, and I knew nothing about birth control, as it was never discussed. When I was twelve, I was still playing with dolls, washing their clothes, feeding them, and rocking them as if they were real babies. While I was too embarrassed for my friends to find out that I still played with dolls, I just loved taking care of them. My motherly instincts were ingrained at a very young age. It was my magical place as a child.

The next day, I called my mom and asked her if she could bring me some clothes. She begged me to come home and questioned if Anthony and I really had a relationship. She wanted to be sure he was not keeping me against