Can You Spot the Parkie?

One of the three friends depicted below has Parkinson's. Your challenge: Identify the correct skier!

New Installment of the PD Pundit up now

Hey friends, the PD pundit is pontificating on Parkinson's again! You can see the latest installment, the Holy Grail of Parkinson's here

Support Group Meeting Saturday, February 17: Rock Steady Boxing!

Hello friends, we will have a boffo meeting this Saturday with a presentation on a new Rock Steady Boxing program that is forming in Anchorage This is one of the most  popular PD exercise programs, so it's exciting to have it happening here in Anchorage. See you at 3:30 at the Pioneer Home, This Saturday!

Pete's Parkinson's Portraits: The Reverend Jesse Jackson

       

Pete's Parkinson's Portraits, Neil Diamond

Support Group Meeting Alert (This is NOT a Drill!)

Hey Everybody, It's a meeting alert! We will have our regularly scheduled meeting this Saturday, January 20th, 3:30 at the usual place, the Pioneer home 5th floor West lounge. We will have a parkinson's pop quiz to start the new year right, so bring your brains, or your gut or whatever you use to do your best thinking. (Magic 8-balls, ok too!)

see you soon!

Peter

New episode of the Parkinson's Pundit on REM Sleep Disorders

Do you have trouble distinguishing reality from a nightmare? The PD Pundit is here to help!

A few notes on falling

Back when I was first diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, I had a fear of falling. There were two things I especially did not relish about the idea that it would become a part of my modern lifestyle. #1 was pain, and the possibility of a fall leading to broken bones, leading to becoming bedridden, leading to bedsores, leading to infection, leading to death. #2 The fact that, back then (17 years ago!) there was nothing I could find known to improve falling. As a person with Parkinson's, you were just doomed to fall. Get used to it.

This was very frustrating, and horribly demoralizing. And we now know, not true. Yes, you will fall more if you have PD, but there are now activities that can improve your balance, stopping falls before they happen. I did a two-part infocomic on this topic, you can find the first part here, and the second here. Walk tall, don't fall. That's all.

Coming THURSDAY, January 4th, a Special Edition of the Anchorage Parkinson's Disease Support group: Connie Carpenter Phinney on Care Partnering

We will have a special edition of the Anchorage Parkinson's Disease Support group on THURSDAY, January 4th. Our speaker will be Connie Carpenter Phinney of the Davis Phinney Parkinson's Foundation. Connie has 17 years of experience as a care partner with her husband Davis Phinney. Both Phinneys were champion cyclists ​in the 1980's with Connie winning a Gold Medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. According to the entry on her in Wikipedia, she "is an American retired racing cyclist and speed skater who won four medals in World Cycling Championship competitions (both road and track cycling) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She also won the gold medal in the cycling road race at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles,^[1] as well as twelve U.S. national championships. She remains the youngest American woman to compete at the Winter Olympics.^[2]" Connie will share her experiences and tips for care partners in an hour-long ​presentation that will include time for questions. This special meeting will be at 4:30 on Thursday, January fourth, in our usual meeting place, the Anchorage Pioneer Home, 5th floor West lounge. I hope to see you there!

Peter

Closing the Year on a High Note. International Cooperation to Help People with PD

Okay, I admit the "International Cooperation" heralded in the clickbait hed above was just me and one French guy, but dagnabbit, we must start somewhere! It began when with a note from Monsieur Jean-Louis Dufloux seeking permission to use an old but redoubtable cartoon I drew (Yes, it's this one.) to illustrate a chapter of the manuscript he is finishing on Parkinson's Disease.

A bit of banter was followed by my sending a sample illustration based on his summary of a scene from his manuscript. The drawing elicited this request from my new BFF (Best French Friend) M. DuFloux:

"Hello Peter,

If possible for you, I would like to have four more drawings :

the use the repelling aspect of PD as a political weapon. My chapter illustrates the attack on Hillary Clinton by Donald Trump’s team during the last Presidential vote
the impact on well-being of l-Dopa at the beginning of the disease, the “honeymoon effect”
something about all the research made by teams in the world, the access to this content through internet, giving hope or disappointment
the impact on sleeping and the terrible wake up.

Tell me if you need more information.
Is it doable?
You can write dialogs, I will translate.
Thanks"

 

As it turned out, it was possible. The drawings appear below.