Weekly Check-In Aug 12-18, 2007 Welcome New Community Members
 

Hi Everyone, and a warm welcome to our new community members!

Not a good week..Last Sunday I was heading to my girlfeinds house and my truck broke down on the way, about 45 miles from home..So I called AAA, and a tow truck showed up in about 20 minutes..I got the bad news on Monday that it needs a motor..I just bought the thing last November, and I wont have the truck back untill late next week, or sometime the week after..So Im riding around in $26 a day rental car..But, thats life..What are ya gonna do?..:confused:

If that wasnt bad enough there was a guy who drowned last Saturday, from Warwick R.I., and around about Tuesday they released his name to the newspaper..Donald Brennan 58 years old..When I read the name a chill went through my body!..There is a Donald Brennan from Warwick who is about 58 years old in my support group..:eek: ..Could it be the same Donald Brennan?..The following day his obituary was in the paper, and it was the Donald that I knew so well..:( ..Don was the guy who I contacted through a friend who knew him to get into support..Don was an amazing guy!..He was dx 15 years ago..Was a marathon runner, and a Vietnam Veteran..Competed in many Ironman Triathelons..Ran the Boston Marathon on many occasions..with pd..and finished..On the day he drowned, he was training for another Triathelon, and theres a possibilty that it wasnt due to pd..He hadnt been feeling well that week and may have had a heart attack or a stroke..The family is waiting for the autopsy report..When Don was at the WPC he so wanted to meet John Ball, the marathon runner..John was his mentor..Funny thing was, that I met John, and Don didnt, and even stranger, I never ran into Don at the WPC even though we were both there..I wish that had been different..Don had a gut splitting sense of humor, and on the day I was invited to Congressman Jim Langevins press conference, I was on the verge of a panic attack sitting in front of the TV cameras, that was untill Don showed up to lend some support and his outbursts broke the ice..:D ..At his wake on Thursday, tons of people filed into the funeral home from all walks of life..He obviously touched alot of peoples lives..There was a display case with all his ribbons and medals in it, the bicycle he rode to compete in the Triathelon, and a collage of pictures..I cant believe he's gone!..The Rhode Island Parkinsons Community has lost an inspirational pd Warrior that we will never forget

Please remember Don and his family in your prayers

How was your week?

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m...rennan-jpg.jpg

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m.../DonsTiger.jpg

This was a Tiger that Don carved, and was on display in the art gallery at the WPC..Some of you may have seen it..He once carved a statue of Dr Friedman, his Neurologist, and gave it to him..Ya just never knew what Don was going to do!..:D

Steve:

I am so sorry for the loss of your friend.

I am back after a long hiatus, briefly interrupted by a few posts in June. It seems odd now, after having fought depression for so many years, and having been through a couple of breakdowns before, but the basic summary of my recent life is that things snuck up on me, and I just spent a week in the local hospital's Mental Health Unit, under a suicide watch.

Immediately prior to that I had been experiencing what seemed to be bouts of dyskinesia, but they didn't seem right to my local neuro, so she sent me down to the Booth Gardner Center in Kirkland, where the neuro there said, "This isn't dyskinesia, this is major anxiety causing the least little twitch to explode!" She started me on Neupro, but because of all of the other stuff going on, and ending up in the MHU two days later, it is hard to tell what is doing what.

One thing that both neuro's, my psychologist and my GP all agreed on was, "Get the stress out of your life!" So, I resigned as Principal of my engineering firm (hard to do when you are part owner), demoted myself to a plain engineer, and am letting the Principals from the NY office run things until they select another Principal. In the meantime, I am using up some of the 490 vacation hours I had accumulated, and will keep doing so until I can face the thought of going back to work without getting my stomach tied in knots. 490 hours ... Do you suppose that had anything to do with my stress level?

I'm not ready to face disability yet; I feel that I can still contribute a lot as an engineer. I am giving some consideration to DBS, though, as soon as I get some of the rest of this junk sorted out.

In the meantime, I am having a great time just sticking around the house, getting some projects done that have been on the list for years, and letting the office be someone else's problem for a while. In fact, from now on, period!

There is some good news, though - my first Grandchild is due in December! Something to hang on for.

I agree with you Steve, last week turned to crap real quick. It started out ok but on Wednesday evening we got a really powerful thunder storm. It had 70 + mph winds. Needless to say not many trees and telephone poles withstood it. I've spent the last 3 days operating a chainsaw and stacking brush. I should be out there today but I'm shot. I've got a motor for your truck if you can get the tree off of the truck to get it out. Luckily, the house didn't get damaged as far as I can tell and we are all ok. The trees missed my boat and other car. I think I'll go fishing this week.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your friend.

GregD

Life....
 

Two posts that speak volumes about the brevity, the harshness of life, but also of its beauty. I am so very sad for you, Steve, that you have lost your friend. He must have been a fine person, and the world is poorer for his loss.

And K. Hamilton, the weeks in hospital must have been hard, very hard. I'm glad you're back home, and how wonderful that a grandbaby is on the way. That's a joy to help you see retirement as a treat, not a defeat.

On Tuesday we're off to the UK to cool off for a week in The Lake District. Making a prototypical tourist mistake, I emailed the Ron Huttons and asked if they might like to pop up and see us there. Their plans to visit us in Denmark last year fell through at the last minute, so here was another chance to meet.
And THEN I looked up the distance from Kent - over 300 miles....I feel a proper fool. England is smaller than the US - but it is a lot bigger than Denmark, and I was thinking in Danish distances. I will make better plans next time.

If you should find yourself in Windermere this coming week that's where we'll be.

birte

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend Steve, and for your health issues Kris. Yours sounds like a wake up call Kris; it's one of the most difficult decisions ever to step back from a career so much earlier than planned. My grandchild is my reason for getting up in the morning...literally haha. We watch TV until my meds work....Dora the Explorer can sound a little shrill at high volume.

Greg, please be careful with that saw.

paula

Kris
 

I too am sorry to hear about your depression..Ive found that stress and pd are a bad mix..I sold my boat last November, and I can tell you from my experience that the stress of just owning that rig was driving my crazy..It sat at the dock all last summer waiting for a buyer..I had to hire someone to paint it, because it was too much for me..Just the thought of having to babysit that thing come winter, walking down the cold icy docks if I hadnt found a buyer by then, filled me with a contempt that is hard to explain, not to mention the cost just to have a place to tie up was eating at the table with me..I just came to a place where I realized it was easier to let go and move on, than it was to hang on and be dragged..I can tell you that Im in much more peace now as a result..Your work no doubt is alot more stressful than mine was, and you must have 100 fold the resposibility..I think using some of your vacatoin time was a wise move..I wish you the best Kris!

Been a stressful week all around
 

Darned heat making life miserable. Banks going nuts just as I'm almost closed on my trailer park. Wife depressed and having cabin fever. Too hot to fish..

Check out the official word-
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/sep2002/nichd-09.htm

Tomorrow is a new day!

at last a
 

breath of fresh, cool air today - only 92 degrees:D
we spent the week at my boyhood home in durham nc, with my dad. my step mother passed early tuesday. she had been fighting cancer and suffering osteoperosis and ready for the next step. her final days were peaceful. she was a well known ceramic artist and a realy great person.

work projects at the farm are piling up a bit, however, i have decided that i will not become stressed about work. its not worth it and effect of stress on my pd symptoms is obvious. i have learned some from reading here on this forum about how important my state of mind is now. i am going to enjoy what i have right now , today.:)

Hi Steve! I am so sorry about your friend! We lost a friend just recently froma support group that we are part of. We had not seen him in quite some time and had not been to alot of meetings lately. We got a call saying that he had committed suicide. It is such a bummer to lose friends.:(
I know that I am not a member of the PD forum...I just like your weekend rollcall! Too bad about your truck. Vehicles are so costly. We hare a one vehicle family right now. I am not working right now so it is not too ba. Any errands I need to do I just work around Hubbys schedual...works out, but to have to rent a car...ouch! Hope you are back on the road soon! Have a good week everyone!!! Dorrie:)

Sad sad sad
 

Steve,

So sorry to learn about your friend's death. Just another confirmation that life isn't fair.

This week I could really see my father (age 84) slipping farther away -- due to Alzheimer's disease. What an insidious disease. My mother at 80 is caretaker - what a toll on her. Mom & I had such a sad talk during my visit on Friday. She said she that somehow she felt responsible for my brother's death at age 15 (he died from an undiagnosed heart defect), and that she also felt responsible for my PD. :(

I comforted her as best I could and reassured her that she was NOT responsible for either event! And how terrible for her to be tormented by such thoughts. I hope I managed to turn her mind away from such sad and unjustified guilt. Her life is difficult enough without that self-torment.

On a happier note, the folks at Arizona APDA have cyclists competing in "El Tour de Tucson" in November. Some of the cyclists will ride and fundraise for PD. And AZAPDA is setting up a new program "Partnering for Parkinson's" where a cyclist will choose a PWP to ride on behalf of -- and they will both fundraise for PD. Anyway the local Medtronics' rep for the area has chosen me - we'd worked together on a PD wine tasting fundraiser last year. He's a great guy and is on the Board of AZAPDA. And I am so excited about this!