Parkinson's Activities for Anchorage-Area Persons of the Parkinson's Persuasion

So what will Anchorage People-with-Parkinson's-about-town be doing this month? (aside from tremoring, festinating, and taking pills, I mean.) Myself, I  hope to be swanning around with the in crowd  attending the Parkinson's Telehealth broadcast. The subject is "Thermography, non-invasive and comfortable imaging for detection of breast Cancer for PD, Caregivers, and more" The event is June 13th, 2016, at 1:00pm. To find the Anchorage area broadcast of this live and interactive hour-long session,  head to the Piper Street side of the Providence Hospital mega-plex, go to the second floor, walk down the lonnnnnnnng hall that stretches South from the cafe and look for room 2401 pretty much at the end of the hall on your right. Then rest up for our next fabulous event, the Summer Picnic Potluck at my house, 9601 Elmore Road (Directions: Beware of construction on Abbott Road. It's best to take Elmore South to the lighted intersection with Abbott. Continue South through the intersection and look for  9601 Elmore about a quarter mile later, roughly halfway up a small hill, on your left. Our house is directly after a largeish house with a chain link fence around the front yard. Come up our semi-long driveway and you're there!) The picnic will take the place of our regular meeting June 18th at 3:30. We'll have cold cuts, paper plates and utensils, you bring whatever you think will taste good on a sunny afternoon in early Summer.

I hope you all are enjoying this fine weather, and that none of you spontaneously combust in the heat!

Sweatily,

Peter

Summer Picnic Report

Summer Picnic wildly successful, man claims

It was a beautiful Saturday to sit in the sun, relax, drink beer and chat about catastrophic illness. I mean, who wants to talk about falls, tremors, discrimination and rapidly advancing decay when the weather is dismal? OK, I do, but besides me, who would do such a thing?

We traded war stories, threatened to show each other nasty bruises and slugged down Chaga tea brewed by Travlin' Dominique Collette. The tea was made from fungus he harvested from a birch snag in my back yard. It was, he told us, loaded with antioxidants. It tasted surprisingly good, sort of how you would expect a birch tree to taste. Thanks to everyone who came, and especially Bob and Carolyn Rinehart for leading the effort to organize this year's picnic, and for bringing some Texas-Style smoked ribs.

Dominique ever-so-gently pounds the crap out of Chaga freshly harvested with dull knives from our backyard. Amazingly, nobody was injured.

Enjoying sun and coversaton at the rustic Singing Fiddle Ranch.

Anchorage Parkinson's Disease Support Group August Meeting

OK, so we didn't have much of a Summer. We can still have our Summer Picnic Potluck, darn it! Are we gonna let a little rain stop us from having a good time? (NO!, NO!!!!!) Are we gonna let a whole lot of rain spoil our Summer  plans? (No!!!! NO!!!!) Will massive downpours dampen our spirits? (NO!!!!!NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Well alright then, let's meet at our usual digs at the Pioneer Home (We normally have it at my house, but our place is a total wreck as Pam is recovering from a shattered ankle) August 18, 3:30. I'll bring some fancy Italian Soup, you all bring something else.

 That is all,

Chef Pierre

The Southcentral Alaska Parkinson's Seer Looks Ahead Into the Month of June

Hey folks, the crystal ball is warming up, the test pattern looks good, and the future is taking shape in front of my eyes! I see... yes!... Another telehealth conference to be held at Providence Hospital. The topic "Tips to improve apathy in Parkinson's". This session will be led by Dr. Monique Giroux, of the Booth Gardner Center in Seattle. Look for this event in room 2401 at 1:00 p.m. in the Providence oncology wing on Monday, June 13th. But that's not all! Our Summer picnic will be held June 18, 3:30 p.m. at the home of the Dunlap-Shohls. This is a potluck, We'll have buffalo burgers, buns, condiments and such, you guys bring the salads, desserts, and other side dishes or beverages. To find our place, head East on Abbott Road from the intersection of Abbott and Lake Otis (uphill toward the majestic Chugach Mountains). You will come to a stoplight that adorns the intersection of Abbott and Elmore Road. Go right (South) on Elmore and look for our house 9601 Elmore, on the left, about a quarter mile down the road, halfway up a small hill.

Also for those of you interested in earning extra credit, There will be a "Webinar" information session that The Davis Phinney foundation plans to hold on the 15th of June. The subject of the Webinar will be the LIVING WELL CHALLENGE, which the foundation calls "A Victory Summit and Panel Discussion Webinar on how to live well with Parkinson’s".

Below is the Foundation's description of what they will offer:

• Presentations and discussions with leading researchers and movement disorder specialists from around the country
• Topics like the latest in research and clinical trials, nutrition, exercise, how to communicate with your doctor and your family.
• And finally, giving you access to worksheets and tools to support you in your
commitment to live well today
Challenge yourself to live well today. Watch with a friend or loved one. Get the tools and information you need to live well today with Parkinson’s disease.
Register today by visiting their website and clicking on The Victory Summit page. Or call 1-877-274-7673."

The time is set for 1:00 pm Eastern Standard time which makes it 9:00 a.m. Alaska time by my not-too-reliable reckoning :) The Davis Phinney foundation is a PD group started up by Olympic cycling champ and PWP Davis Phinney.

While techno-wiz is not one of the things that springs to mind when you think "Pete" I am pretty sure that I can stream this to my large screen TV if anyone would like to come by and watch it at my house. Warning: If you do come over, you may be licked by an extremely cute Dachshund. If you would like to come, please send me an email (dunlapshohl(at)gmail(dot)com) by June 1 so I may make all in readiness.

Your humble servant,

Peter