This has been a long dry spell of reporting, but much happening that merits comment.

RAGBRAI was different riding on a tandem the first four days. My captain could not have been better but I learned that I need to be in control of the pace and timing. I need frequent elimination times, eating the right foods at the right times and short breaks, not long rest stops. By Thursday I reclaimed my solo road bike to sag half the day and ride the last half, making me a happy camper again. Same for Friday and then I helped another person who needed a stoker for the half of the last day. The riding went well but the drive home was a marathon of 12 hour days sitting in the rear seat of a truck cab. My body stiffened so much that I was in pain for nearly a week after returning home. Pitiful. But lots of stretching, Dance for PD and some hiking squared me around and I am fine now. Point: Must pay attention to my body.

I volunteered at the UW Physical Therapy grad students final exams and had four students assess my shoulder/shooting pains down the arms problem. I expected almost no help since the problem has been going a long time and nothing seems to relieve it. But each student came up with a similar diagnosis and among them, they developed some creative ways of dealing with it. 1. I use a laptop and have been sitting incorrectly for years, leaning forward with my back curved and chin jutting forward. I resurrected a wireless keyboard, synched it to my laptop, put the laptop at eye level and the keyboard in the top drawer of my desk. I've been typing this way for two days now and feel great! 2. During the bike ride my seat and pedals were put on and off several bikes several times, resulting in exacerbating already strained posture. I'm having a PT fit me to my bike on Tuesday, which should help arm pain even more. 3. The assessed my painful finger joint that was broken over two years ago and recommended a hand strength gadget, which is not painful and actually seems to help, for now anyway. I'm so pleased with the efforts they made and the effects they have already had. Not having back pain is HUGE!!!

I gave a talk on my book last Wed. Everyone was most appreciative and 25% of the attendees bought a book. A couple sitting in front of me, nearly my age, cried softly through much of it and thanked me profusely at the end. There is something about hearing someone say you are not alone at all that is important. I have 11 more talks scheduled, from WA to VA, listed on my webpage: nanlittle.com.

An old friend learned about a possible hope for those of us with PD. Apparently a combination of drugs developed for malaria is showing promise at slowing/eliminating progression of PD in rats. I have signed up for more news in keeping with my lab rat status.