A fellow Alaskan Parkie, AC Neimeyer, passed away Friday and was remembered in a memorial service yesterday. AC came to Alaska during WWII. In 1946 he and a companion claimed to be the first to hitchhike down the Alcan. They made cheese sandwiches for the trip but before thy got too far the sandwiches froze solid. The only way they could thaw them was to put them under their arm pits.

The service was uniquely Alaskan as part of the service was the reciting of an old Arctic poem entitled "The Cremation of Sam McGee'. If you are interested in pioneer history you can hear a recital of poem by Clicking here.

AC was one of the two elderly patients that I told you about in Carolyn's thread DBS...early, not later when life is unbearable . AC's primary PD symptom was his speech. His family stated that the PD only affected him above the shoulders. (Perhaps the frozen sandwiches numbed his lower body ) It was very hard to understand him and he would get so frustrated when he couldn't communicate his thoughts that he ended up in tears. I cautioned him that DBS probably wouldn't help his speech but he insisted that is what he wanted to do. He was very active and other than his PD he was in great health for someone nearing 80. The doctors agreed to the surgery only because he was in good physical shape. The DBS did improve his speech for a short period of time. He was able to communicate again with his grandkids for which he was grateful. His health however started deteriorating and on Thanksgiving Day something ruptured in his body and he was rushed to the hospital where he died. How much of an affect that the DBS had on his declining health we will probably never know. His family said he never regretted having the surgery which lifted a burden off my shoulders as I felt I should have discouraged him more in my conversations about DBS with him. He will be missed by all those who knew him.

I'm sorry for your loss Dale. We do what we believe will enable us to get by. Grandchildren are pretty motivating. My sympathies to you and the family.

Really sorry to hear this Dale. I used to lilve in Pouce Coupe and Fort St John back in the fifties. They are and were a different breed of human being to have done what he did in his life.

I am glad it was as long as he deserved and wanted it to be.

I used to take my kids up the the highway and off ilnto the bush where there was an old log cabin with a hard as rock dirt floor and we would stay there for 3 or 4 days at a time. It was right on the river. I used to lie there at night and wonder who had lived there and what their lives had been like.

You were a friend of his and that is/was good.

Sorry once again for the loss of your friend.

Thelma

If he lived to 80 on his own terms he had a pretty good run at the mountain. The saying goes "only the good die young" but I decided some time ago that the real truth is "only the good die suddenly". Yes Robert Service wrote some great stuff about the frozen North. I have a good friend who memorized the "Cremation of Sam Mcgee" I've heard him recite it a dozen times (at least) and it's just as good as hearing it for the first time every time he does it.

Thank you for sharing your story.

My cousin stumbled upon this and shared it with me. It brought more then a few tears to my eye. My grandfather was a powerful force in the lives of anyone he met. The man sometimes seemed more tall tale than anything else. He is one of the most important people in my life - and I loved him more than I can say.

When I first found out he was diagnosed with Parkinson's I was too young to understand what was going to happen. When he underwent the surgery he did regain speech for what I now realize was a brief, but blessed time- and we're not spiritual people.

I have an amazing memory of talking on the phone with him after - and hearing about how well he was doing, how hopeful he was, and how happy he was. Having this memory means the world to me - especially since I know that this memory was as special to him as it was to me.

Things got worse afterwards, but I was able to share some more amazing moments. During his last week I shared a photo album with him and talked to him about college. There are some really tough memories from that week too.

Thank you for the friend you were to my grandfather, and thank you for sharing here and allowing me to relive these memories.