25C to 0C with a bullet

It is true.  Last week the temperature on one day was 25C (77F) and within 24 hours it had fallen to a daytime high of 0C (32F) where it has remained these past 4 or 5 days. If that wasn't bad enough, during that period I noticed a distinct deterioration in my balance.  At my wife's urging, I applied for a parking pass.   Here is the physiotherapist's report in support of my application:

".....presents with the typical Parkinson's shuffling gait pattern.  His walking speed and stride length is compromised as is his balance; thus, he is more prone to tripping and falling.  He has had several falls and snow and ice increase the possibility of injury"

Sadly, all is true.  I remain optimistic.  If I did no talking, people I meet would have no clue of my condition.

I have deferred any rendezvous I might have with a deteriorating body until sometime after my death.

The high today is +1C. I ain't scared of no snow and ice, got me a parking pass.

Audience for the past week

The total to date is 87, 868 page views and I continue to get an average of 3 to 12 first time visitors on  a daily basis.  Thanks to all.  I hope I have in some way helped to make your journey a little easier. And now back to me (see next entry).

Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	Avg
Pageloads	21	40	25	19	17	12	12	146	21
Unique Visits	14	13	13	15	12	11	11	89	13
First Time Visits	4	2	5	2	4	3	3	23	3
Returning Visits	10	11	8	13	8	8	8	66	9

A discourse on ladybugs and balance

Raise your hand if you saw the movie "Papillon", with Paul Newman. Great movie! Remember the scene when Papillon is put in solitary confinement and is bitten by a vampire bat? Did it leave you feeling squeamish? Well, that's nothing! We have been invaded by ladybugs. They are not the friendly ladybugs that stay hidden under the leaves; rather, they are hell-bound, vampire, attack machines. Kamikazes, they are, as they end up squashed when their mission has been completed.

Now, don't get me wrong; their bite is inconsequential. That is not the issue. The problem is their bite is sudden and disturbing to this PWP. The surprise of being bitten and the reaction of swatting the demon bug causes me to stumble. My balance, already precarious, is rocked and I am in danger of falling. For example, today I mowed the lawn and I was bending over, adding gas, when one of at them nipped my neck causing me to stumble forward onto the mower. No damage done, except I had an audience of two passing by and could hear them whispering "what's with him?" I quickly downed my medication and, after a few minutes, I continued mowing.

This isn't really about vicious alien lady bugs, it is about me and others in the same condition. In the descriptions of the 5 stages of PD, have I hit stage 3 yet?

Let's do a quick overview of PD for those who have just tuned in:

• It is a progressive debilitating movement or more severely "an incurable, degenerative brain disease".
• It affects 1-2% of people over 65 but there is a possibility of early onset. For example, Michael Fox was 29 when diagnosed.
• Symptoms include slow movements, tremors, rigidity, speech problems and instability. There are others, but these are the most talked about.
• As mentioned, practitioners have developed a simple table outlining the 5 stages of PD.
• Not everyone agrees with this method and more extensive descriptions have been authored.

I will stick to the simple table and in particular, the first three stages.

1. Stage one is the mildest form wherein tremors and other related problems are usually found on one side of he body.
2. Stage two is the moderate stage. Symptoms are bilateral. Muscles stiffen and movement difficulties occur. Balance should not be a prominent issue.
3. Going from 2 - 3 can take months or even years.
4. Stage three symptoms resemble stage 2 but the PWP now has difficulties with balance and reflexes. Slowness is a complication, falls are more common but the victim is still able to live independently.

So where am I? Let's see

• tremors - one side only
• some rigidity and stiff muscles
• slowing down
• some bother with balance

Unfortunately by this description of the stages, I am in late 2 stage or early stage 3. When a tiny nip from a lady bug can cause me to lose balance well, I must be__________(you fill in the adjectival phrase). I am confident however, that through exercise I will not graduate to the next level no matter what. I promise myself to stay where I am.

By the way.... things may not be as disastrous as they appear. When Papillon is bitten by the vampire bat, the movie shows his wound - two little holes where the bat bit. The problem is, vampire bats do not have fangs and therefore cannot make two perfect blood-draining holes; rather, they make tiny cuts in the victim's skin and bathe the cuts with saliva that contains an ant-coagulant. The blood flows freely and the bat dines.

Some analogy, isn't it? I just had to mention those fiendish ladybugs.

Dinner with Woe Chi Grin

Had dinner with an old friend I had not seen in 15 years or so. In fact, I thought he may have died, it had been so long.  He is very much alive but he is falling apart.  I believe he has at least one shoulder replaced along with two knees.  He is so hard of hearing that it becomes necessary to almost shout into his ear.  To top it all off, he has diabetes.  Yet, through it all he has maintained a positive outlook and a grand sense of humour, laughing at his disabilities and loving the fact that he can't hear and  I can't speak.  Our wives had to tell him everything that I was saying, even though I thought I was shouting.  It was a fun time at a Chinese restaurant.

I forgot to tell you, he is undergoing hernia surgery today. Be better soon old fella, I don't want to go to the hospital to visit you.

I think I need a reason for telling this story. Well, I have one. The use of humour is therapeutic . Laughter is a natural medicine. We were born to laugh. Why? Cancer treatment Centers of America reports that researchers have found that a good laugh can:

• enhance oxygen intake
• stimulate the heart and lungs
• relax muscles through the body
• trigger the release of endorphins
• ease digestion/soothe stomach aches
• relieve pain
• balance blood pressure
• improve mental functions

Laughter therapy may also help to:

• improve overall attitude
• reduce stress/tension,
• promote relaxation
• improve sleep
• enhance quality of life
• strengthen social bonds and relationships
• produce a general sense of well-being

I don't know about you, but I will take PD over all the ills my friend has had to put up with. While you think that over, go to Youtube and watch Tim Conway and the elephant story (both the rehearsal and the live) and Tim Conway the Dentist. If those skits, in which Tim Conway ad libs unknown to his other cast members, don't make you laugh, will laugh therapy help?

statistics for last week

	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total	Avg
Pageloads	17	9	12	20	52	19	22	151	22
Unique Visits	12	9	11	12	19	13	14	90	13
First Time Visits	5	3	3	5	5	6	6	33	5
Returning Visits	7	6	8	7	14	7	8	57	8

Shakin' all over

It wasn't enough to take away my voice and make me sound moronic at those times when I should be showing off any quick-witted intelligence that, I think, once controlled my brain, but now, for a few minutes each day (when the medicine is wearing off) I get inner shaking in my limbs. That old familiar feeling!

What and interesting but insidious condition is PD!

Personally, I look forward to the day, we wipe it off the face of the world, ala small pox and polio. I hold out hope we will arrive at that conclusion sooner than later. I want to be able to smell flowers again, sign my name the same way each time, and hold out my hand with a steady grip. You know, the little things that PD has robbed us of.

There must be a way out of here
said the victim to the pope
Can religion bring a cure to me
Right now it's hard to cope

Can your amens take away
This shaking haunting me
Look toward the holy faith
His truth can set you free

I shake my head as if to say
The Allmighty is a fraud
No sense to start in praying
I doubt there is a god

No reason to be dubious
I've seen it work before
I think his words are flimflam
I wish to hear no more

All upon the jump tower
Where people go to pray
Facing the horizon
With thoughts enclosed by clay
Their prayers are filled with confidence
I've heard the people say
The Lord will fix the problem
And send that fix my way

What is all this nonsense
But the moment's finally broke
Their prayers are never answered
And then the victim spoke

I know that with a certainty
A cure will come some day
Your prayers are not hurting me
So go ahead and pray.

It's true, the cure will not be discovered by the religious, but it is a good plan to cover all possibilities, even if we believe it will be at the hands of a science nerd that PD will finally be dealt with - forever. So support your local nerds. The geeks of the world must be treated with love and care; after all, they are the only ones intently interested in the details of PD. It is in the details that the cure is lurking. You have my permission to carry on.

There is a difference between geeks and nerds:

1. Geek: May the force be with you
2. Nerd: May the force be equal to the mass times acceleration.