First, let me address aj's comment about Paula & I not using wheelchairs. I guess I am about the most stubborn person with PD there is (maybe besides Paula). I always say when I check in at the airport, "I MAY need wheelchair services," then I rarely use it. It is much safer, I know, but then being hard-headed is why I am still able to travel. Traveling alone isn't very smart when you are in advanced stages.

At BIO I had a follow-up interview for the NPR program, "Biotech Nation." It won't be up for several weeks (maybe even months), but back in 2007, I was interviewed and the old interview is there. http://www.technation.com/ (You can watch the site, if interested) Dr. Moria Gunn is one sharp lady. She was very interested in my experimental brain surgery (which I had 8 years ago). As "pathetic" as I am, I could no more walk across oa room unassisted prior to the surgery. I guess if placebo effect did that, then bottle it up! Dr. Gunn's mother had Parkinson's.

And now to discuss or give my viewpoint of this forum. John Lester was the Technology Administrator for Mass. General and created Braintalk back in the late 90's, when a bunch of us found his forum. This means of communicating was new (heck, the information highway was even new!), so he drew in thousands of hits each day. John took a real interest in the Parkinson's community. He even became part of the board of directors for the PLWP community. John came to our retreats and social functions and even visited me here in Tennessee. We were all one big family. We would often visit one another - I even visited Ron Hutton in the UK!

Everybody has forums or websites now. And after John had a friend that was involved in 9-11, he sort of faded out of the picture. I haven't heard from him in years. He was such a caring person. Then when some moderoaotors took Braintalk over, they started banning people and everyone seemed to flock to NeuroTalk. I seldom post any more (unless it's something that really grabs my attention, like this thread.) I'm on about every "new PD treatment" alert lists there are, so it's not news to me when I read it in this forum. But I do enjoy the "personal" aspect of this forum - like we're discussing right now. That, in my opinion, is worth me addressing.

I don't really know the John of NeuroTalk that well, but he also seems very caring (after all, he sat this forum up for us). I have heard many say that they didn't feel "qualified" to post in this forum. That's a ashame, because connecting or networking with others who share this disease should be the main role this forum plays. It has gotten a bit too formal in some respects. And it seems that forums are all over the place. You just find one that works for you and stick with it.

I hope I haven't said anything to hurt anyone's feelings; I'm just giving you my opinion. By the way, I journaled online for PLWP for several years (as did Greg and AJ and others who post here). You can still read the journals at www.plwp.org . Spammers have almost ruined my journal - so if you wish to read it chronologically, start with peg 1.

Peggy