Time for an update

My participation in the CoQ10 study is over. I had my last visit with the research nurse a few weeks ago, and now I'm just a regular PD patient. And this means ...... I've started medication. The doctor evaluated me and thought I didn't really need to be on meds yet, so I explained how I had difficulty driving because of the stiffness (dystonia) in my right foot. Then he said that since this is a safety issue, he'd rather put me on the Cadillac pill (Sinemet) than risk using anything less effective and have me get in an accident. I'm still interested in left foot driving solutions, but I'll see how this goes for a while first. I may even be putting off giving up driving a manual transmission for a while too.

How's it going you ask? Well, first thing is I'm typing this with two hands. It's not easy, but I'm getting through it. My right hand hasn't typed in a long time, or done much of anything else, so I'm getting used to just using my hand also. I'm feeling quite a bit better, and I only reached the full dose (you ramp up) a few days ago. My foot is alot less stiff, my arm is a lot less stiff, even my voice feels stronger. I haven't felt this normal in quite a while.

I've been working since the end of November, starting in Holland, MI and now thankfully in Troy, MI. So I'm crossing the border again every day. Work has been very busy, and exercise has unfortunately taken a back seat. We did get Wii Fit, and I've tried it out a bit. Judi is more disciplined though, and she's enjoying it.

Mobility issues

....show up in unexpected places. Somehow I noticed that my right thumb can't close as far as my left. I've been stretching to try to get the mobility back, but it's not happening yet.

Check out the difference in how far my thumbs are closed;

I'm closing them as hard as I can. I can bend it a little further by squeezing it inside my fist, but I can't make it go any further on it's own strength.

Climbing Trees

I don't think my wife got a picture, but yesterday I climbed a tree. Well, at least a little bit - with a ladder head start. We've neglected the cherry tree at the front of our house for too long, and it's grown way too tall. It's too close to the house and I've considered taking it out completely. We still may do that.

I started out just cutting some of the branches that were easy to access from the ladder. Then I looked at it again, assessed my energy, and climbed in. I hung on with my affected arm and cut a few higher branches. Hurricane Earls' wind blew me around a bit. Every once in a while I thought; "what am I doing? I have Parkinson's." Somehow I was able to hang on and cut out about two-thirds of the branches. They're now laying in the driveway waiting for me to clean them up.

I think God is trying to tell me I can do more. And - that He'll take care of me even if I do something stupid.

What follows an announcement?

Hey everybody, I'm going to bike 3 times a day!


Translation = Hey everybody, I'm going to skip biking for the next few days.

Why do I never see it coming?

Three-a-days

I'm trying a new approach, with the goal of increasing my pace. Instead of one bike workout per day, I'm shooting for three. I'm trying to keep my pace over 15 mph. So far, it's a goal. I'm getting there.

Today's chart;

Hand shakes

No, not the tremor.

Yesterday, while being greeted by others at church and shaking their hand I was finding it hard to let go. It made for some awkward moments.

I really appreciate the connection of a handshake or a hug. I'll have to figure out how to disconnect quicker.

50 miles

I did it!

Now, what's the next goal?