A wee bit of background. I'm having surgery on my brain as a participant in a clinical trial for a new gene therapy for Parkinson's. Yes, there will be holes drilled into my brain. No, I won't be awake for it, and it isn't expected to be painful. The study provides what they call "concierge" …
Drill baby drill
That’s what I’ll tell the surgeon some months hence as he prepares to inject a virus into the command center of my very essence, that is, my brain. Yes, the clinical trial testing a gene therapy's efficacy in slowing disease progression in Parkinson's Disease is on, baby! In my typical Only Know What You Need …
Lean in…to lethargy
I woke thinking….Hmmm. Well I probably wake thinking hmmmm every day. Today’s hmmm translates as “how can I waste house-bound guilt-free time today? But is there really such a thing as wasted time anyway? I mean we spend time. We use time., sometimes wisely sometimes not. Either way, those five minutes are gone forever.. What’s …
I’ve Flunked Meditation
I’d just concluded a delightful four-day visit with an old friend in Atlanta. We’ve known each other since we met at Camp.Mataponi in Naples, Maine at the age of ten. We were fast friends for all our nine years at camp, lost touch for decades, and miraculously reconnected about fifteen years ago. Our lives are …
Am I on trial?
I believe I’ve mentioned that I was being considered as a clinical trial subject for a new Parkinson’s gene therapy. I’ve been very excited about helping to advance science and possibly finding some symptom relief. It’s a double blind trial, which means that some subjects receive the actual treatment during the trial period and others …
Find Your Sun
Here Comes the Sun... As the Beatles sang, "It's been a long cold lonely winter." Except winter has just begun. Yup, it's Day Four of my Least Favorite Season. I'm a New Englander born and bred (shout-out to my fellow Rhode Islanders) , and I learned early that if the sun is shining, you must …
Keep brain in shape: try new things
Defeated by canasta Defeated by mah jongg Defeated by bridge decades ago when brain was at its peak Now defeated by crochet. Crochet! It’s practically knitting which I can do in my sleep. Best not try to prove this, could lose an eye. Should I try knitting with eyes closed just to make a point? …
Parky dreams…occasionally sweet, always interesting
Sweet dreams I have a couple of friends with whom I chat in the early morning hours, usually between 7:00 and 8:00. And I haven’t turned into my mother. Oh no, it’s way less predictable than that. I’ve turned into my grandmother. I guess the “start-the-day with-a-rambling-conversation” gene skips a generation. Here’s a nearly verbatim …
Continue reading Parky dreams…occasionally sweet, always interesting
Two diets, no waiting
If you're a boomer and that sounds familiar, check out this audio clue. You guessed it, the theme from the old Andy Griffith show. Hmm, wonder whatever happened to the little kid who played Opie. And what in the world does the old Andy Griffith show have to do with Parkinson's or aging? Two chairs, …
I am a bear
No, this has zilch to do with the cutie-pie star of the eponymous TV show. I am speaking of what is likely the primal, ursine urge to hibernate. Last Sunday morning my frequent partner in crime Diane texted me around midday, asking if I wanted to go line dancing at 7:00. Sure do, I said, …
Moving and Shaking 