Linda has posted a picture of our new dog, Dutch. He is pretty cool. Nicole found him for us at a no kill shelter. He was hit by a truck when he was a pup and some kind person found him on the side of the road. Monica Seaton paid the veterinarian to take care of him and gave him a home until he was adopted. There were complications and he has had two homes in the past five years. Hopefully, he has a permanent home now. He is a great guy. We walk at least once a day and sometimes twice. I don' think he was walked very often previously. Did I mention that Dutch is missing a leg? His right back leg is gone, but he manages so well. He inspires me and probably many of the neighbors as well..
We fenced our back yard. Dutch has found ways to leave the fenced part and visit the neighbors. I think his visits are limited now.
I have been telling people that I am cured as of August 1. I walk and talk without any apparent deficiencies. I think I am OK, although I still go to physical therapy. I am not a victim. Actually, I have benefitted from a new perspective. I am probably in better physical shape after the health issues, although the Parkinson's may have surprises in store.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My Lucky Day
I read about a man whose dog can help him to walk. The man has PD ( Parkinson's Disease) The dog has not been trained specifically to work with Parkinson's patients. The man's feet sometimes freeze when he is walking and he is not able to move until his dog touches his feet. The dog realizes that the man is not walking and touches the man's feet with his paw. Immediately, the man can walk again.
No one seems to know very much about the disease, so there are a number of anecdotes that seem to make sense. I an interested in what a dog makes of a person with such symptoms. Dogs have a uncanny sense of what is right and wrong with human health.
This has nothing to do with dogs, but is an example of how the human mind can be made to work. I tend to walk with a limp, my hand are often tense and rigid. It seems that I am prepared to use my hands to balance myself. I heard someone on public television tell a Parkinson's patient to count her steps when she is walking. She did and her steps became more fluid. I have tried this with wonderful results. My guess is that occupying my mind with counting, frees it to walk naturally. My wife thinks this is a miracle. She encourages me to count when I am getting out of bed and getting out of the car. It seems to help. I was walking with the physical therapist a week or so ago. We were talking about rotator cuffs. I was interested and as I thought my way through the conversation, I quit limping. I was walking fairly normally.
I may get a nice surprise today. I have applied for a dog named Bradley. Bradley is a lab mix and seems to be extraordinarily well behaved. I am second in line for him. The other person is visiting with Bradley today and will make a decision later today. It is probably a long shot. It is hard to imagine why the other guy might not take him.
My daughter-in-law Nicole has located another dog I am excited to meet. His name is Dutch. Dutch lost his right back leg after he was hit by a car. If I feel sure he won't become excited and knock me down he may be the dog for me. I'll know later today.
I rode my bicycle to the post office an hour or so ago. I talked to an old friend. Apparently she wanted to talk and eventually told me she has Lyme Disease. I know almost as little about Lyme as I did about Parkinson's. Her balance is messed up, and apparently she is limited in her ability to ride her bike. I wanted to encourage her to just keep trying. I have a hard time getting on and off my bike, but although I am constantly fearful of falling, it has not happened yet.
I am terrified most of the time I am on my bike. I wear a helmet to protect my head, although from experience I realize that I could make better use of knee and elbow pads. If I fall on pavement, I will skin myself up. Most of the time I can force myself to fall on the side of the road. There is grass, and often stickers there.
I keep trying to challenge myself by finding steep hills. If I ride away from my house through Meade City Park and then follow Rainbelt Street there is a very steep hill as I approach the Baptist Church. I have made it up the hill twice this week, but I am sure I would do better if I had another person riding with me. I think I need the competition.
I am excited today. Blake and Nicole will be here tomorrow. It does not get better than that.
No one seems to know very much about the disease, so there are a number of anecdotes that seem to make sense. I an interested in what a dog makes of a person with such symptoms. Dogs have a uncanny sense of what is right and wrong with human health.
This has nothing to do with dogs, but is an example of how the human mind can be made to work. I tend to walk with a limp, my hand are often tense and rigid. It seems that I am prepared to use my hands to balance myself. I heard someone on public television tell a Parkinson's patient to count her steps when she is walking. She did and her steps became more fluid. I have tried this with wonderful results. My guess is that occupying my mind with counting, frees it to walk naturally. My wife thinks this is a miracle. She encourages me to count when I am getting out of bed and getting out of the car. It seems to help. I was walking with the physical therapist a week or so ago. We were talking about rotator cuffs. I was interested and as I thought my way through the conversation, I quit limping. I was walking fairly normally.
I may get a nice surprise today. I have applied for a dog named Bradley. Bradley is a lab mix and seems to be extraordinarily well behaved. I am second in line for him. The other person is visiting with Bradley today and will make a decision later today. It is probably a long shot. It is hard to imagine why the other guy might not take him.
My daughter-in-law Nicole has located another dog I am excited to meet. His name is Dutch. Dutch lost his right back leg after he was hit by a car. If I feel sure he won't become excited and knock me down he may be the dog for me. I'll know later today.
I rode my bicycle to the post office an hour or so ago. I talked to an old friend. Apparently she wanted to talk and eventually told me she has Lyme Disease. I know almost as little about Lyme as I did about Parkinson's. Her balance is messed up, and apparently she is limited in her ability to ride her bike. I wanted to encourage her to just keep trying. I have a hard time getting on and off my bike, but although I am constantly fearful of falling, it has not happened yet.
I am terrified most of the time I am on my bike. I wear a helmet to protect my head, although from experience I realize that I could make better use of knee and elbow pads. If I fall on pavement, I will skin myself up. Most of the time I can force myself to fall on the side of the road. There is grass, and often stickers there.
I keep trying to challenge myself by finding steep hills. If I ride away from my house through Meade City Park and then follow Rainbelt Street there is a very steep hill as I approach the Baptist Church. I have made it up the hill twice this week, but I am sure I would do better if I had another person riding with me. I think I need the competition.
I am excited today. Blake and Nicole will be here tomorrow. It does not get better than that.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
My Diagnosis
I was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Apparently there is not a method of diagnosis except for doctor's opinion after examining a patient. The neurologist asked me to follow his finger with my eyes as he moved it in front of my face. My opinion is that I was able to follow his movements. He asked me to walk down a hallway outside his office. I felt like I walked poorly, but I was pleased the I could walk at all. I was in his office because my doctor believed that I had had a stroke a few days before. I had gone to the emergency room and had wound up in a Wichita hospital. At the hospital I had MRI scans of my brain and had been attached with heart sensors for a couple of days. The doctor in Meade and another person had commented that I looked like I had Parkinson's. The neurologist said I looked like I was wearing a mask because my face showed no emotion.
He was not displeased with the way I walked, except that my left arm did not swing. My wife had commented on my left arm no swinging as we has walked around our neighborhood a few weeks before. The thing that impressed me was that he asked me if I could tap my toes. I said, "Sure." I started to raise and lower the toes off my right foot. The toes moved easily. He said, "Try the left now."Although my I tried to move the left foot. It remained in place. I could not move it. I have heard people say that having Parkinson's is sometimes like having one or both feet glued to the floor.
I am not sure when the left toe began to move when I wanted it to move. It was after I began the medication. I read somewhere a few days ago that I should move my toes every time I plan to move my feet. The comment was followed by a quotation that referred to moving water not freezing. A terrifying outcome is that sometimes Parkinson's patients' bodies freeze like like the characters in Robins William's "Awakening."
Recently the physical therapist wanted me to stand on one foot. I could not raise my right foot. I was attempting to pick it up, but I sensed that I could not balance on my left foot. It may have been a defense mechanism, but I could not lift the right foot from the floor. After the therapist allowed me to hold on to a bar as I attempted to stand on one leg, I began to be able to lift one leg at a time. I have difficulty standing on one leg to put on my pants. In fact, I fell last winter as I was dressing for school. I started sitting on the bed as I put my pants on. I remember thinking what a bitch it is to be getting old.
He was not displeased with the way I walked, except that my left arm did not swing. My wife had commented on my left arm no swinging as we has walked around our neighborhood a few weeks before. The thing that impressed me was that he asked me if I could tap my toes. I said, "Sure." I started to raise and lower the toes off my right foot. The toes moved easily. He said, "Try the left now."Although my I tried to move the left foot. It remained in place. I could not move it. I have heard people say that having Parkinson's is sometimes like having one or both feet glued to the floor.
I am not sure when the left toe began to move when I wanted it to move. It was after I began the medication. I read somewhere a few days ago that I should move my toes every time I plan to move my feet. The comment was followed by a quotation that referred to moving water not freezing. A terrifying outcome is that sometimes Parkinson's patients' bodies freeze like like the characters in Robins William's "Awakening."
Recently the physical therapist wanted me to stand on one foot. I could not raise my right foot. I was attempting to pick it up, but I sensed that I could not balance on my left foot. It may have been a defense mechanism, but I could not lift the right foot from the floor. After the therapist allowed me to hold on to a bar as I attempted to stand on one leg, I began to be able to lift one leg at a time. I have difficulty standing on one leg to put on my pants. In fact, I fell last winter as I was dressing for school. I started sitting on the bed as I put my pants on. I remember thinking what a bitch it is to be getting old.
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