[stevem53]

Hi Everyone..

I dont have a whole lot to report this week..Lots of things up in the air..My brothers biopsy results this coming Friday..trying to figure out whether or not I can make it to the Pan Forum, and I have been invited to a press conference by Congressman Jim Langevin on this coming Tuesday concerning the recent passing of the Stem Cell Bill through the House of Representatives, and I was asked to give a short speech on what this means to the Parkinsons community..The speech has to be a minute or less, and Im having panic attacks just thinking about it.. ..I told his press secretary that I would type out a short speech and read from it so's I dont start stuttering like PPPPP..PPPorky Pig.. ..Thats what happens when I get nervous and/or try to explain stuff..Public speaking isnt my strong suit..although I can stand up in front of 300 alcoholics at an AA meeting and tell them what a jerk I was when I drank..go figure

Other than that Ive got 2 small boats and I am in the process of getting one ready to sell to a friend of mine..Ive been stripping all my gear off of it, etc..Ive been doing yard work and cleaning out the garage, cellar inbetween..I felt pretty good...THIS week

I installed a photoshop program on my computer, and you can do some really funky stuff with it..You can alter pictures with it and its really, really alot of fun..So I was thinking to do a "Picture of the Week" again..but an "altered" Picture of the week..We parkies need a good laugh every now and then..so..everyone is a target..politicians, celebrities, news commentators, athletes, etc..This is meant in the spirt of laughter, and not meant to offend anyones political affiliations, opinions, etc..So the laughs are on me..I hope..

How was your week?

So this weeks Altered Picture of the Week is....Capt Jirk and Dr Crock

[wendy s]

We had the worst weather in most people's memory this last week. We get bitter cold here, and some years there's lots of snow, but we don't get blizzards like we had Tues. night. We're all still talking about our adventures trying to get home, or how deep and long the drifts were outside the back door the next day, and how many vehicles were abandoned along a road. I'm very grateful that my son survived in such good shape - it turned out that he got to his friends place by walking in front of the truck that tried to pull him out of the ditch - the visibility was so bad that they couldn't tell where the road was. He walked the last half mile by himself because they knew the truck wouldn't make it through. (See last week's check-in for the story if this doesn't make sense.)

Discovered yesterday that the bedroom furniture that I'd had my eye on was on sale - a really great sale! Very exciting - we've never been ones to "keep up with the Jones" but the second hand stuff we bought 25 yrs. ago has seen better days!

Steve, I know what you mean about the public speaking. I just can't do it at all anymore. I don't do the staff in-services I should do at work, and I gave up conducting our church choir - my tremor is right out of control in front of a crowd. I'm feeling bad that I missed a young friend's funeral yesterday - I knew that the stress of it would have hugely increased the tremor, and I didn't want to put myself through it, or worry my family sitting around me. Good luck with the speech, I feel very proud of you for attempting it.

[Stitcher]

Love the photo Steve.

You are almost done X-ing the days off the calendar for your brothers results. It is hard to sit on that fence. You don't want to get to attached to the positive side. And, you don't want to get to attached to the negative side. I can appreciate that, since I am going through a similar situation with lymph nodes. MRI results last Thu. Next step is biopsy. Will know this Thu or Fri what kind of biopsy I will have. So, I am a fence sitter too......such a bummer.

Was to have moved by now, but I am delaying until the 27th so the painter can have the place totally empty since he is painting from the baseboards to the ceilings...including the ceilings that is.

Finally, will be cold......tonight and in the teens tomorrow. Oh, the wind tonight is actually loud.

Off to Back to lunchboxes, schoolbuses tomorrow and afternoon snacks tomorrow.

[RLSmi]

Brrrrrr!! After temperatures over 80 last week, Shreveport is flirting with low 20s tonight. We have been fortunate in that the ice storms have missed us. When it gets this cold, we say it will kill more bugs so they won't be so bad come spring. (Yeah, right!)

Steve, I have been where your brother is, awaiting the biopsy news. Nine years ago I had my biopsy and awaited that call from the urologist which turned out to be positive in my case. I had the radical prostatectomy three months later, got a good pathology report (cancer contained within the organ, "clean margins") and recovered just fine in 3-4 weeks. I've had a zero PSA since then. I hope your brother's result is negative, but can attest that the treatment isn't that tough if you have a good surgeon. There are other treatments available, but I wanted to give myself the peace of mind that it was all gone.

Your photoshop handiwork was great! Good character matches.

Robert

[stevem53]

Originally Posted by RLSmi

Brrrrrr!! After temperatures over 80 last week, Shreveport is flirting with low 20s tonight. We have been fortunate in that the ice storms have missed us. When it gets this cold, we say it will kill more bugs so they won't be so bad come spring. (Yeah, right!)

Steve, I have been where your brother is, awaiting the biopsy news. Nine years ago I had my biopsy and awaited that call from the urologist which turned out to be positive in my case. I had the radical prostatectomy three months later, got a good pathology report (cancer contained within the organ, "clean margins") and recovered just fine in 3-4 weeks. I've had a zero PSA since then. I hope your brother's result is negative, but can attest that the treatment isn't that tough if you have a good surgeon. There are other treatments available, but I wanted to give myself the peace of mind that it was all gone.

Your photoshop handiwork was great! Good character matches.

Robert

My brother will get his results this coming Friday..I will give you a call soon to touch base

That photoshop is too much fun.. ..I make these creations and sit back and laugh my @ss off!!!

[Ronhutton]

We seem to be having better weather than the US!! I cut the lawn this week, it is growing strongly. Even the daffodils are out weeks ahead of time. We have had no snow and little frost yet.
Doing well after nearly 16 years since diagnosis. So well, we have booked 16 days in Tahiti in March. One blot on the horizon is I injured my shoulder in a fall last year and an X-ray shows it is dislocated. I see a specialist tomorrow in London.
The final figure I raised in the charity auction I organised for funds for PD research is £17,000. The £ is quite high against the $ and the Euro, so that is around $32,000. Donations have continued to come in long after the auction was over.
Well, I was up at 5-00am today, and it is now 7-00am, that means time to let the dog out!!
Ron

[Stitcher]

Okay everyone...where are your weekly updates!

Get in here and let Steve...and everyone else...know how you are doing from week to week.

Steve starts each week with this , but just a couple of us fill up the thread.

Bring the and your and share this life-line with everyone.

This message board is one of the important life-lines in my life!!

p.s. that's a group hug icon up there...LOL...just added this week to the wonderful list of Smilies (BrainTalk doesn't have this many...)

Also, please don't hesitate to let me know when my grahics get to be too much...over board!

[stevem53]

Thanks Carolyn..There hasnt been much participation lately, and on Braintalk its almost non-existent..It seems that after the BT crash we have not seemed to get back to normal, and there also seems to be a small amount of newcomers as well as compared to before..I would like to believe that there arent that many new dx's out there, but I know that is not the case, unfortunately

[made it up]

Well..... here goes.
It's hot as hot can possibly be here, if you're jealous of that don't be!
Water restrictions are in force due to the drought and the dams supplying Sydney are getting low.
Summer holidays for a lot of people still so the city is nice and quiet.
School doesn't start for another fortnight so I still have my youngest munchkin to entertain me till then.
Ahh that wasn't so bad. I enjoy the weekly check in Steve, thanks.
Cheers,
Lee

[Stitcher]

Lee, I was raised in Florida, so I can appreciate the heat you speak of, and those were the years before air conditioning...ugh...and I slept in the top bunk where all the heat rises too...double ugh.

Steve, maybe we can post something somewhere, or have NWPF, or other org's "advertise" the forum...hummm.

Also, the doctor who Curious (think it was Curious) posted the notice about who is writing the article is writing specifically about this board...maybe other communication tools...not sure. I know she is going to use some of the comments I sent here, as we talked back and forth a couple of times. So, this will help to get the word out too.