"Yuletide Blog"

Well, it is that time of year again when the government in their wisdom allows egg nog to be "legalized" for the short duration of the Christmas holiday and then to minimize its visibility at the grocery stores until cholesterol levels have been given time to drop back down to "normal" levels. Of course now--if anyone actually read this blog--the government will be shutting me down to cover up this conspiracy with the health care industry.

I actually love egg nog and the holiday season though its meaning has become very warped both on a national and familial scale. I know of no other holiday (than maybe Thanksgiving) which has become so stressful at least in its preparatory stages than it should. The stresses, of course, involve the gift buying, the gathering of families which seem to become more and more splintered, and the fact that Thanksgiving just passed and here comes another large meal! We always seem to take our holidays and throw on either a lot of crazy rituals (Easter egg hunt, I am looking at you) or unrealistic expectations (you got her the pot and pan set but she got you the high dollar iPod!).

I could go on and on about the holiday season (the hanging of lights, the displaying of fan driven, wind blown over snowmen and Santa's, the cutting down, display, and adornment of large outdoor plants indoors, etc.) but I will leave it that. On the more larger topic which this blog covers, I will say that the symptoms of my Parkinson's, despite the holiday stress, have lessened recently. The exercise routine seems to have helped with the stiffness and tremor levels. Mr. Bill stays as he was in October...

Have a safe and joyful Christmas!

"Snap, Crackle, Pop"

I guess it is the engineer in me that makes me buy a book on just about anything that I am about to tackle, experience, etc. My library is huge and contains subjects from computers, to aquarium fish, to electronics, to travel in Scotland, to the war in the Pacific during WWII, to Shakespeare...well, you get the idea. If I am going to do something that I am not familiar with, I buy a book. If I am going to go through a condition (such as Parkinson's), I buy a book. Although I don't think I would be in the minority with the latter, it would be my tendency anyway.

With all of that said, I have purchased at least three different books now on Parkinson's. All three stress the importance of exercise in helping with the muscle stiffness and potentially slow the progress/symptoms of the disease. To that end, I took up Tae Kwon Do (TKD) with my son and have started some modest body building. Has it worked? Yes, it does seem to help. I feel stronger and the stiffness in my muscles is not as bad as it was. Don't get me wrong... Parkinson's is a regressive disease and at some point the exercise will not help as much but for now, I am getting into better shape and hopefully prolonging the inevitable symptoms.

As mentioned in other posts, I have young-onset Parkinson's Disease (YOPD). This is actually a good thing for me because if I had to start an exercise program in my 60's when a majority of Parkinson's sufferers get this disease, I think I would be in major trouble. I say this because I have discovered over the last month or so that I am no "Spring chicken." At 41, the TKD and weight lifting is not as easy as it once would have been. My knees are making noises that not only I can hear but others can as well. If I throw a punch wrong in TKD, my shoulder makes a loud pop. This morning, after TKD practice last night, I could barely make it up the stairs (and back down) without having to heavily rely on the railing, wall, etc. So, while the exercise helps, it also reminds me of my age and why you don't see many athletes over the age of 40 (and believe me, they are in much better shape than me).

Forgetting the disease, it is really a let down when I see how much harder it is to do physical things now. My TKD class includes only one other adult (slightly younger) and the rest are kids. The kids run circles around me in terms of flexibility, ability, etc. It is funny to see the looks on their faces when I throw a kick that barely gets above my waist, if it all. When I was a kid, I could put my toe almost to my shoulder. I was not exactly Ray Guy, but I had some flexibility. Now, if my toe makes it over my belt line on a kick, I am celebrating (or getting Celebrex or something). Granted, I have had a lot of leg injuries over the years: torn ACL, Achille's tendon rupture, severely strained ankle, popped muscles, bone spurs in my foot, etc. With all of that, though, I always considered myself somewhat athletic. Yes, with my small stature, I usually have to pour more effort into what I am trying to accomplish and that has obviously taken a toll, but I thought I would have SOME of that left over.

Aging is not fun. I notice the changes over time but they tend to creep up on me. The physical ability changes seemed to come overnight (around 38). It is not to say that I cannot regain some of my abilities given my current regimen, but we shall see. In the meantime, I'll have to get use to "snap, crackle, pop".

"Oh No!"

One of the reasons for creating this blog is to track the progress of my Parkinson's Disease (PD) and its effect on me both physically and otherwise. I hope that this will help others with Young Onset PD (YOPD) to have some idea as what is ahead and to let them know they are not alone in what they are going through. I caution, however, that PD and YOPD is an individual disease. While the general symptoms are the same, the onset, order of symptoms, location of symptoms and severity can vary greatly.

The title of this particular post pertains to the character I am going to use to track my PD as I go along with this blog. Some may remember "Mr. Bill" and his nemesis "Sluggo" (in my use case here, he will be "YOPD") from Saturday Night Live in the 1970's. Mr. Bill often quoted this just before Sluggo did something terrible to him. Mr. Bill will be my stand-in as I track my physical and mental progression with PD. I know the graphics are terrible, but Mr. Bill was not exactly Rodin's "The Thinker".

In February of this year, I developed a "twitch" in my left thumb. It builds up to a very quick pace (about 4 beats per second) in a short period of time. I can stop it with movement of my thumb but at rest, it will build up again to the same pace. I would also stop it from time-to-time by grabbing the right sleeve of my shirt especially when it shook in public.

By July, the "twitching" became more prevalent in my thumb and now my left lower leg (calf muscle) started to get in the act. This was manifested as more of a shake than a "twitch". Simply by standing on my leg would stop the motion, but when at rest, it would shake at a rate similar to my thumb. Both would typically move at the same time starting with the thumb movement.

Around October, the intensity and amount of movement during the day had increased quite a bit. As in the earlier cases, stressful situations tended to make the movement worse. During an EEG test at a hospital in Texas, the nurse turned on a strobe light toward the end of the test which startled me out of my near sleep state. My thumb and leg twitched violently for several minutes and I had a difficult time stopping them until the test was complete. In addition, I noticed that my lower left forearm now shook quite a bit as well. The frequency was not as fast as my thumb or leg, but it was rhythmic in nature. While I was the only person to notice the tremors earlier in the year, others now were beginning to notice the movement on my left side.

As this blog goes forward, I will continue to update my condition and any drugs taken to combat the symptoms (I am currently not on any medications). I welcome any comments or questions regarding my YOPD.

"No Peanuts For You"

As mentioned in previous posts, I fly quite often for business. Until we learn how to turn cow chips into computer chips here in SE Missouri or I change my profession from the semiconductor industry, I will have to fly to work. This currently involves a 3 hour drive to the nearest major airport in St. Louis. Memphis is actually approximately equidistant but flying out of Memphis is much more expensive than St. Louis for some reason (I have heard the reasons in the past, but they don't make much sense--a flight from St. Louis through Memphis to Austin, for instance is much cheaper than a flight from Memphis to Austin direct on the same airplane). I have been flying for many years now but it is not what it once was. In the few paragraphs below, I will share what I know many of you frequent fliers already know--customer service and comfort in the airline industry is a thing of the past. I am not by nature a complainer, but when it comes to airlines, it is hard not to complain...

Seats
I have flown several times to Germany on Lufthansa and have purposely "missed" a Lufthansa flight to instead go on a code share on United to get more leg room. I am only 5'6" tall yet the leg room on Lufthansa (and they are not the only one) is so cramped that it made me feel uncomfortable. I can't imagine what someone much taller than I must go through for a long flight like that. I have noticed over the last several years that the airlines have started to publish more information on the planes in regard to DVT (deep vein thrombosis) and on how to minimize your risks. For one, they could increase the pitch of the seats on the airplanes. I understand their need to make a profit and I flew after 9/11 and was among only a few on a almost empty 757 many times. Now, however, the situation is completely flipped and in opinion, ridiculous (never an "empty" flight).

The next issue regarding seats is getting a "good" seat. I am a "window seater" myself. I sleep often on planes so having the wall of the plane to place my head instead of my neighbor or the snack cart aisle works for me. Others prefer the aisle. I have not met anyone who longs for the middle seat, however. The key to getting the seat of your choice was once early booking. The earlier you book your seats, the more likely you are to get to sit where you want. That is not true anymore. It seems that overbooking of flights is much more prevalent than before 9/11 which forces you to get your seat assignments at the airport rather than when you book the flight.

Further, airlines are beginning to charge EXTRA for those "choice" seats. I encountered this in Montana once when flying Northwest Airlines (not my favorite airline by a longshot) and noticed while trying to move to a better seat that there were "$" symbols on all of the seats to which I wanted to move on the checkin kiosk screen. They were charging $15 for any change to these seats from the middle seats even though there were many seats available since the flight was not full. Southwest addresses that problem by allowing open seating which I once loved because I am an early checkin type of guy. With the advent of online checkin 24 hours before your flight, however, I am increasingly in the position of having to take the middle seats unless I can remember to checkin online before heading to the airport and beat the others who have discovered this to the punch.

Food
A mention of airline food does not exactly bring up visions of gourmet creations. In relation to what we have now, however, I long for the "good ol' days". I remember not having to worry about breakfast, lunch, or dinner when flying on a longer flight because they would be serving something on the plane even in coach. Now, you are "lucky" to get even peanuts or pretzels on some flights. The drink service is still there, but if you want something else, you have to pay $5 or so for a "snack pack". They have invested in a portable credit card machine to charge you for the privilege of being fed but not to feed you as part of the service. I have no problem being charged a reasonable amount on top of the ticket for meal service but being charged on board an exorbitant amount of money for a nutrition-poor substitute is wrong in my opinion.

No Peanuts for You
Even my friends at Southwest Airlines seem to be in on the act. I EXPECT only peanuts on their flights. On longer flights, they will give you a variety of snack foods at no extra charge. I love Southwest because I know what to expect and a majority of their flights are short in nature. With this said, however, I noticed that their peanut packages are not always the same size. Many times I will be sleeping during the "peanut handout" and wake to notice that they have left the peanuts next to me. On one such occasion, I stuck the peanuts in my carryon and had them with me for several weeks. On another flight, I noticed that the peanuts they gave me seemed to have much less volume of peanuts in the bag than what I had in my carryon. I took out the carryon version and their were 3 times as many peanuts in those bags (same size bag, by the way) than in the samples they had just given me. Bagging machine a little less generous when those peanuts were packaged? Something tells me it was more than just coincidence or a flawed bagging machine...

Security
First, let me say I have no problem with the security screening itself. I rarely have issues with TSA with the exception of one problem: consistency. My home airport, St. Louis, has one of the more expedient security line processes of the many airports from which I fly. It can still be a long line at 5AM on a Monday, but nothing like I see at other airports. Try walking to the back of a security checkpoint line at Phoenix, Dallas Fort/Worth, San Jose A terminal, or the B terminal at Sacramento, for instance, with only an hour or less before your flight on an early Monday or Friday morning. You can do this at St. Louis or Austin, for instance, without too much fear, but you had better be prepared to rebook if you do this in other places. The funny thing is that there does not seem to be much reason for this. I have been in Phoenix where there are plenty of metal detectors and x-ray machines open but the urgency on the part of the TSA folk there does not seem to be the same as STL or AUS. They are still thourough at those other airports, but the line actually moves. As mentioned, I am an early checkin guy so no huge deal for me but there are always those poor people who have a flight in 20 minutes and are at the back of a 30 minute line or worse.

Offsite Car Rental
Some airports like Austin still have rental cars very close to the terminal and others like Love Field in Dallas only require a short trip on a bus to get to the facility. Others seem like you have to ride almost the length of your airline trip to get to your vehicle. Dallas/Fort Worth and Phoenix come to mind. My advice, despite the airlines that state you should arrive at the airport an hour or so before your flight, please arrive at least two hours ahead at DFW, PHX, or similar airports.

So with all of that said (and I am sure I can come up with other "complaints"), here is my personal list of favorite and least favorite major airlines on which I frequently fly. Let me know if you agree or disagree (never thought I would say I wished TWA was back):

Favorite Airlines
1 - Southwest
2 - Frontier
3 - American/United

Least Favorite Airlines
1 - Northwest
2 - US Air/America Worst(West)
3 - Lufthansa
4 - Delta
5- American/United

My Name? Jus' call me, "Twitchy"...

In Michael J. Fox's autobiography "Lucky Man", he mentions that he has been called by his kids "Shaky Dad" due to his Parkinson's Disease (PD). My own son developed a nickname for me as well--"Twitchy". Since I am not as far as along as Mr. Fox in my PD, my symptoms are not as pronounced yet and I may still become "Shaky Dad". For now, I am just "Twitchy".

Back in February of 2007, there was a perfect storm brewing in my life. I was experiencing many life changes at once. I had been divorced for several years and trying to gain custody of my son. The process was starting once again about this time. In addition, I had just moved back to SE Missouri from Texas and starting a job for my company that involved a lot of traveling and unhealthy food (those who travel for business likely know what I am talking about). There were many pressures and changes to which to adjust. My blood pressure, for the first time in my life, was going out of normal range. My cholesterol levels were too high. My weight was too high. I felt depressed a lot of the time though, to be honest, I really did not have a particular reason to be depressed. Then, on top of all that, I had a slight twitch in my left thumb.

I went to a doctor in May 2007--three months after these physical issues appeared (I'm a guy...You wouldn't expect me to go right away would you?). He diagnosed me with depression and stress and asked that I get control of my diet and take Xanax. The Xanax did nothing for me, but with proper diet I was able to get the cholesterol, weight, and blood pressure down. The custody battle was coming to a close and I was developing a routine for my business travel. However, "Mr. Twitchy" was still there and more pronounced. My son would have fun with it from time-to-time and tape it to my palm to keep it from twitching. It reminded me of the gun fighter in the movie "Blazing Saddles" who, coincidentally, was also named "Jim". When trying to prove that he was a washed out gun fighter, he presented the Sheriff with his non-shooting hand first which was solid as a rock but then presented his shooting hand which was comically shaking all over the place.

In August, I went to another doctor to get another opinion. They thought the problem might be something called "essential tremor". Essential tremor (ET) is a more benign form of tremoring but is more of a "moving" tremor than a "resting" tremor. The tremor I had was only in one side of my body (my left thumb and now beginning to develop in my lower left leg) and only tremored when at rest versus when moving. I could easily stop the tremor by moving my thumb or by putting weight on my leg but it would slowly start back up again when I had the appendage at rest. While the doctor (and I) hoped it was ET, they wanted me to see a neurologist to confirm.

In September, the neurologist ran a series of short tests. He mainly asked me some questions about the symptoms (which were obvious--the more stressful the situation, the more the shaking occurs) and checked for muscular strength and stiffness. He asked me what I thought I had and then sat me down and told me that he was 99% sure I had PD. I actually took the news very well because not knowing was bothering me more than knowing.

My reaction is probably more of an exception, however. PD is a terrible disease. It can exhibit itself in different ways at first and then degrade into the other main symptoms. These include tremors, muscle stiffness, imbalance, depression, slowness of movement, and even more serious neurological problems. The exact cause is not known nor is a cure. It is known that the disease involves destruction of the brain cells that control muscle movement. If you want to know more about PD, there are many websites, but you can start here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/parkinsonsdisease.html.

Currently, the twitching in my left hand has increased quite a bit in the last month. Others are beginning to notice more often than not the shaking. My left wrist gets very stiff and sore from all of the shaking during the day. I don't even notice the shaking as much as I once did until it becomes more severe. In addition, I go through bouts of unexplained depression. I get really down and anxious at times during the day for no apparent reason. To help control the PD, I have started doing some weight lifting and Tae Kwon Do to help build the muscles up which is one of the main methods of helping to offset the symptoms (exercise). I have not started any drugs yet and probably will not until the symptoms are so bad that I have to do so to perform daily duties.

So, that is how I got to this point. I encourage any of you who have PD or YOPD (Young Onset PD) to post comments. I will be glad to share with you more about my status with this disease. In future posts, I'll discuss more about the effects of PD on my life and the symptoms as they progress.

"Twitchy"

"Who am I? Why am I here?"

Some of you may recall Admiral Stockdale generating those queries during a 1992 U.S. Vice Presidential debate while running with Presidential candidate Ross Perot. While the questions became infamous and Saturday Night Live fodder--which was unfortunate because Admiral Stockdale was a hero and being sincere--I think they are more than appropriate for a first blog entry.

So, "Who am I?" My name is Jim Young and I live in Southeastern Missouri also known as the "Bootheel" for the shape of the state's border area here as it dips down into Arkansas. It is also sometimes called "Swampeast Missouri" locally due to the swampy lowlands that were drained off in the early part of the 20th century to make way for mainly agricultural use of what was once mainly a flood basin for the Mississippi river thus the current title of my blog.

I don't spend much time here in "Swampeast Missouri", however. I work for a semiconductor equipment maker based in the Silicon Valley in California and travel extensively for them throughout the country. When I am here, I keep myself busy working in or around the house, workshop, or playing with my junior high aged son. I am a Christian, a member of a local church, and follow a reformed view of doctrine (see my friend Gunny's blog, Semper Reformanda at http://gunny93.blogspot.com/ for more on this subject and a very insightful and entertaining read).

"Why am I here?" Not sure about that one yet. "Everyone" else seems to have a blog, so "Why not?" might be an appropriate answer here. I do have some specific things I will likely touch on in subsequent blogs that might give a clue as to why I am here.

One subject will likely be my recent diagnosis of Young Onset Parkinson's disease (YOPD). When I was diagnosed, I found a few sites where YOPD victims had discussed what they were going through but nothing that really detailed the progression of their disease. The fact that a minority of people get this disease at my age (early 40's) is a blessing but for those who have it--especially those with families, bills to pay, etc.--it can be a terrible discovery. I hope to lend some hope and comfort to those fellow YOPD'ers from time-to-time and share with them what I am going through and how I get by day-to-day.

In addition, I am a huge St. Louis Cardinal fan. Baseball is my main sport though I follow just about anything that resembles a sport. I love movies with dry humor (Mel Brooks, Airplane, Naked Gun--you get the idea). Most of all, however, I love my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without Him, I would be forever lost and I am grateful that He died for me and all sinners so that we may be saved. You will likely see many references to these topics and more in future posts.

So, that is it. I am in the "blogosphere"!