They are forever blowing bubbles

Am I a cynic when I question whether people looking for cures for Alzheimer's, cancer, PD and the like are not highly motivated? After all, if they find a cure, they are out of a job.

Yes, that is totally cynical...or is it? Progress is being made but slowly so it is hard not to be a cynic. The "disease" has been around a long time. It was given the name "The Shaking Palsy" in 1817 by Dr. James Parkinson who fervently believed a cure was possible if not probable.

Sorry Doc. It is now 202 years later and, guess what? No cures.

However, there is highly regarded research being done and advancements are being made. Dr. Oz's prognostication that "It will be cured within 10 years" may well come true. The problem is, he said that 10 years ago! Still, I remain somewhat optimistic and here a few things I have learned:

1. Currently there is no cure and there is no magic bullet that will slow the progression of PD.
2. It seems to me that luck, exercise and diet might possibly slow its progression.
   
3. Symptoms can be controlled by recognized drugs such as Levodopa/carbidopa and various dopamine agonists. Sometimes, unexpectedly, a drug such as amantadine will make itself useful
4. DBS can also control PD symptoms, if you don't mind a neurologist messing with your brain.
5. "Control" does not mean "cure" or "slow down". PD will be ever-present, attacking and killing off dopamine-producing cells.
6. Forget about supplements. They most likely can't hurt, but they can't help either.
7. "Cures" keep popping up on the Net making outrageous claims
8. I hope this will be a possibility.... and maybe lead to a cure.

Cheer up newbies. I am into my 9th year and the only visible signs of my dark friend is the occasional loss of balance. The secret to my success is luck and exercise. Oh, a good support group helps too. I am grateful for Rock Steady Boxing. Never heard of it? Google can help.

A friend of mine once told me, “Exercise is wonderful. I could sit and watch it all day.”

I Get it. I once held the same opinion but, he is not a PLWP.

I am!

Shoe & Ships & ...

“Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?”

I am getting impatient! First I have not been cured (come on, get with it. You are very close.) and second, except for a few poems, I have had writer's block for several weeks.

when I was a teacher, I remember three signs I had hung on my classroom wall. You know, for inspiration. I can't remember who the authors were and I am too stressed to look for them but they know who they are and these are (close to) their words, not mine.

1. Leap! The net will be there.
2. Success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire; and lastly,
3. If you hear a voice saying "You are not a painter"; then paint, boy, paint and that voice will be silenced.

Now I am trying to inspire myself and have concluded that those signs lead to the truism that, when faced with a blank page, start writing and you will find your purpose as you continue to write.

Hence this catharsis.

I am into my 9th PD year and except for the fact I can't smell anything at all, a slight shuffle and the odd loss of balance, I feel perfectly normal. Why is that? You may ask.

Who knows?

The authorities have concluded that exercise is most beneficial to the process of slowing the advancement of PD. I agree. In fact, if you have been following this blog, you will know that I have have been obsessed with this concept for many years and you know what? I have hated every run, every weight lift, and yada....

I have fought my resentment and because of a touch of OCD I only slowed down when I could no longer physically be successful.

Then I discovered Rock Steady Boxing and I have a session tomorrow. I enjoy every minute, probably due to the atmosphere created by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable coach. She makes an hour's exercise pass quickly and I look forward to every session 3X weekly.

On to a different topic altogether, just so I have a record of the event. My entire adult family got a tattoo, the significance of which is our secret. It was my first tattoo and I was surprised it was so easy and painless. The only thing that I didn't expect was the artist telling me, "I don't do many septuagenarians. God, it's true. I am in that club now. Oh my God...a septuagenarian!

I had to look up the spelling of that word!

Wall Flower #2

The queen of the shades
Stands in the shadows
Lost in her mind and her moods
The tremors begin
She removes to the dark
And stands in the corner and broods

Her thoughts are a maze of one-way turns
She wallows in one & she sighs
Then waving her hand
She straddles the gloom
between despair and despise

She clenches her fist
her tremor retreats
For right now she is hoping to be
a part of the crowd
Then just for a moment
She feels what it's like to be free

For only an instant, she's normal again
But her happiness comes and it fades
She won't let them see
Their queen with a smile
For she rules the land of the shades,