<h1>Suffering. Is it part of the human condition? Or, is it just me?</H1>

Every year for the past 16 years we have gone to South Beach, Florida, just to escape winter for 3 weeks. This year, we couldn't go, due to my wife's health problems (she has regained her health, but has to get tested and see doctors several times over the next 3 months). So I sit here and look at the cold lurking outside my window, dreaming about palm trees and beaches.

I miss Sobe. There are good people there and, more importantly, heat. However, our disappointment in missing the trip was ameliorated because we did have a 10 day heatwave here.Yes folks, we consider +4C (40F) to be a better than average warm spell in February. The problem is, the snow started to melt and it was so nice outside, for some stupid reason, I decided to shovel off the deck. Wet, heavy snow! The result? Damage to the rotator and/or pectorals. It has been about 10 days of agony and I am just starting to recover.

But, if I whine too much, please bear with me, just a little longer.

During my suffering, I wondered if PD was the agent of my agony. I have to be careful of ascribing every little ache and pain to my condition, lest I miss a "big" one. I searched Google and found an article written by Jackie Hun Christensen for the National Parkinson Foundation. She seems to answer my question when she writes:

"While many family doctors and even some neurologists will tell you that Parkinson’s disease does not hurt, most people with the disease will probably disagree. In fact, pain might have been one of the early symptoms that, when combined with other signs, first compelled you to see a doctor. Chances are, if you did not experience pain as an early symptom, it will show up later, as your disease progresses. Usually it occurs or is worse on the side of the body that is most affected by Parkinson's

"The types of pain associated with Parkinson’s include: aching or burning pain from musclesor skeleton, sharp pain from a nerve or nerve root, numbness or “pins and needles” pain also radiating from a nerve or nerve root, pulsing or aching pain that results from tightness or ongoing twisting and writhing movements (dyskinesia), restlessness caused from akathisia, and sudden, sharp burning pain that occurs for no known reason."

The adjectives used in the last paragraph, all apply to me, except the dyskinesia or akathisia. The sudden, sharp pain has rocked me a few times this month. It is short-lived, but is malevolent in its rapidity and certainly makes me sit up and take notice. So maybe my suffering is due to PD and not to shovelling 2 feet of wet snow off an 80 square foot deck. Or maybe a coincidence is involved. What do you think?

Either way, I suffer. It's like I try to pick roses and forget about the thorns, but missing thorns is unusual for me. It is not in my nature. Today, I am like that guy Joe Btfsplk in Li'l Abner, with a constant raincloud over my head. I have tried suffering in silence but now I would rather lose perspective and shout out my sorrows because, as they say, misery loves company.