Long intermission:

1.  Well, I’m not dead, jut busy and slow.

2.  I have lots of excuses, but surely could have found time for a few words.

3. Today I felt so good, like there was nothing wrong with me. After a trip to the drug store, I had a coffee and muffin at Tim Hortons, read part of the paper and walked up our steep hill as quickly as I ever did and wasn’t winded at the top, and finally raked the leaves.

My general health has been about the same as usual, a mix of good days when I feel good and walk well and my voice is quite good and a day or part of a day when I feel awful.  (Have I told you that all my teeth are out and I have an inconvenient upper and lower plate?)  A bone scan shows that at least that part of me is normal. Unfortunately, after a good part of many days I often end up exhausted and in need of an hour or so of rest.  Today is a pleasant exception as I’m still going strong this evening.

We have had a remarkable fall.  Up until the last week or so we often had t-shirt days with a cup of coffee on the deck.  Even many of the cooler days have been bright and sunny.  We didn’t get as much done in the garden as we had hoped, but we are getting ready for winter:  winter tires, deck furniture mostly put away, eves troughs cleaned out (part, near a tree, was flooding over rather than draining), outside water lines drained and garden equipment all crammed into one room in the basement.

 I find that having projects to do suits my life-style: working out three mornings a week, writing a short story (or something) for our monthly writer’s group meeting and building a slightly oversize doll’s crib for a nearby great-great-granddaughter.  To help with this I recently bought a bench size drill press – always wanted one, now got one.  My work areas (desk, storage cabinets, workshop) are very disorganized and I have a permanent project to tidy them all up, but it never gets done.  I hate to throw things out.

Our monthly Parkinson’s Society meeting was Tuesday and we divided into two groups, PDers and care givers.  Our discussions centred around what was wrong with us and what was being done to combat it.  When I hear about the problems of the others I realize that I am very fortunate to only have a few bad or exhausted days among the good ones.  There are a few exceptions.  I get up for pills (and another pee in my pot) at 7 am.  It is chilly and sometimes awkward getting back in to bed – and I stay there until about 8 to give the pills time to work.  I have been wondering just how long a person can continue this sort of activity – how many more days.  In just over two years I’ll be 90 and will this all be as much fun then.

This is getting long enough.  I’ll try to be more regular in the future.  (promises, promises.

Sept. 22, 2016

This has been a busy two weeks and it isn’t over yet.  I is too complicated to remember all that has happened – certainly not in the correct order.  You get a listing, and if anything seems extra important, I’ll expand.

Jan is in England and about half way through a two week visit to her Mom and family.  Her granddaughter, Isabelle is going to St. Mary’s University, just started a couple of weeks ago and is staying with us temporarily (I went there part time for about ten years.).  Jan’s daughter, Susanne and her husband Jeff have bought a house here in Dartmouth, with a view of the harbour, for Isabelle to live in while she attends St. Mary’s.  They also hope she can find someone to share the place and the costs.  It is a good house in a good location, but there are some repairs to be done – like refinishing the floors and the stairs.  There are a few other things and the place won’t be ready for occupancy until at least the middle of October.  I spent a few part days tearing out unwanted shelving in the basement.

We have two cats that don’t get along well and Sus. and Jeff brought two dogs and a lot of Isabelle’s stuff in their SUV. The house is divided into dog and cat areas.  This has not always been handy for us or the animals.  Sus. has been painting and dealing with contractors but is going home for a week on the 23^rd and will return to deal with the flooring work about the first of October.  Jeff is travelling the world, as usual, but will return here about the 10^th of October and they will drive the SUV back with one dog.  The other one died of old age last week.

My health has been quite good in spite of changed activities and times.  I have had two or three severe fatigue sessions and my walking and balance have been “off” once or twice.  I realize that this isn’t much of a Parkinson’s letter but considering the changes and the occasional stress, I am doing ok.  Tea and Tango is starting up again on Saturday and we will have a couple of hours of dancing and munching.  I am not known for being graceful on my feet and I think I have forgotten most of the steps we learned, but it is fun and everyone is patient.

           

Sept. 2, 2016

Another week with nothing written when, in fact, I have a bit of good news.  But first, of course, the weather.  It seems to control so much of what we do. Our lawn is about half or more brown.  We have had showers but nothing substantial.  I have, however, been able to clear out some wild roses.  We used t have some fairly controlled red flowered wild roses, but the more recent white ones are taking over everywhere.  I also used to be able to pick lack-berries by the bowl full, but they have been nearly taken over by the new white enemy.  I cleaned out some of them from a garden at the front side of the house.  I wore gauntlets to protect my arms and did get rid of one bunch, now for the other 20 or 30,

We have had lots of company the past week.  Jan’s daughter Susanne and her husband Jeff have just bought a house here in Dartmouth.  At the moment it is for the use of their daughter Isabelle to live in to go to St. Mary’s University.  (Where I went for a few years.)  She hopes to get someone to help share the costs.  Susan and Jeff are here arranging for some repairs and updates for the place.

Yesterday I went to see my heart doctor and he was very pleased with my condition.  He even said that I didn’t have to back and see him unless I felt that I needed to.  I chose to see him again in a year as he might notice changes in me that I may not have realized.  This made me feel so good that I went back to the Findlay Centre and did a small repair on a stand for holding weights – and to completely weed a small garden at the front of the building – and to forget my 3 o’clock pills until almost 4:30.  Naughty, naughty, and it takes a while for the pills to work.  My pill timer had been left at home and I didn’t realize that I was getting a little less effective and a bit more clumsy.  I survived – again.

More gardening to be done, some more limbs to take off the neighbour’s tree and some wild rose bushed to eradicate.

August 20, 2916

I admit to being distracted.  The Olympics have consumed much of our evenings since they started, and the ones you really want to see (track, 100m, 200m & the relays) are always at the end of the evening.   It has also seemed that the chatting and advertising take up too much of the time.  I suppose that some discussion is necessary and the ads pay for a lot of things, but I wonder how many minutes each hour are actually showing a picture of Olympic games in progress.  My guess is not more than a quarter.  It must still be fascinating as we spend a lot of time in front f the TV.

Not much has changed with Parkinson’s.  I get to meet a new doctor next week.  My regular has just had a child and is off for probably a year.

We have been doing outside work in the garden between some really heavy rains – which we needed.  Sunny with a breeze today – really quite nice.

Although my health seems generally quite good and my blood pressure is in the 120s over 60s, I have felt a little woozy/ unsteady occasionally when I get up suddenly.  It seems as though this can be a sign of low blood pressure.  I will ask the doctor about this next week.

Hooray for the medals we have won at Rio and sorry for those that missed a medal when they count times in thousands of a second.

August 13, 2016

It seems as though my blog is usually a weather report.  The weather also plays a big influence on how I feel.  We have had a number of very hot days, and we are praying for more rain and things to be a little cooler.  (There have been a few brief showers, but we need much more.)  When the weather is warm and it isn’t wet I do a lot more outside – the deck, rock walls, shovelling dirt and other work in the garden.  Unfortunately, either due to my age or my medical conditions, this extra activity makes me exhausted and this catches up with me in the evenings.

Part of the problem is that internally, I don’t feel old and I think I can do as much as I ever did.  It doesn’t seem possible that the excessive weariness and old-age are connected.  Jan believes my theory is not correct.

We have had more visitors this past week, although they stayed at my daughter Heather’s home.  My grandson Howard and his family arrived from Edmonton and at last I got to meet his wife and two great-granddaughters (4 & 7, I think).  It has been years since seeing him and we had never met his family.  Great visit.

This week I ran out of sleeping pills – you would think I didn’t need them with my complaints about being tired.  I will get a renewal of my prescription on Monday, but in the interval I tried Melatonin, with what I think are mixed results.  I went to sleep better, but in the morning I have been more unsteady and feeling a bit “spaced out”.  (Like after a few drinks.)  A pharmacist was consulted, and apparently it is a natural product, but I warn caution.  In part, I don’t like to think of the balance of my life being on drug support, and wanted to see if anything else might work.

My dentures are still a problem, at least the bottom plate.  I’m back to the dentist on Monday to try and improve the fit.  The loose plate affects both my speech and my eating.  I hope I can report an improvement with my next entry.

There is a “walk for Parkinson’s" coming up so I had better get registered.  My walking isn’t great, but the organization can use the financial contributions.

Good health to all – or at least better health.

July 28, 2016

Today, Thursday, had a bit of good news.  I got to the dentist, without an appointment, and he did some adjustments to my false teeth (lower plate).  Unfortunately I expect to be back as this one item won’t cure all my troubles.  Now I have to do something about my speech.  I’m getting really hard to understand.

As well, today, I got my three-month injection of estrogen which is keeping my prostate cancer under control.  My family doctor does the injection and she had a report from another doctor that my Parkinson’s is progressing very slowly and my medications are working satisfactorily.  Hooray, I am dying slower. 

I worked in the garden with Jan for the remainder of the afternoon and haven’t felt the extreme exhaustion that such activity often causes.

July 29^th

My health seems to remain on a fairly level but a bit uneven plain.  I don’t feel sick/unwell in any part of my body but this morning my walking was a little shuffley and uneven but improved by the time I got to Findlay Centre for a work-out.  In the afternoon when we worked in the garden all was fine.  I had my usual tired spell after supper, but that also has cleared up.

At my age and health condition I’m not going to last for ever.  Next week Jan and I are going to do some planning for the “what if” part and are going to see our lawyer for advice.

Canadians always talk about the weather:  Today cloudy with a breeze off the water – good working conditions for the garden.  Tomorrow possible showers but fairly warm – continuing for the weekend.

Happy Canada Day!

July 24, 2016

It is a bright sunny day and not too hot – after a thunder and lightning storm the night before.  Since this is supposed to be at least a little about Parkinson’s and not a weather report, I had better get down to business.

At present and recently there have been only two changes I my symptoms.  The first, and I think I have mentioned it before, is the extreme tiredness I get at the end of the day.  It is frequently a factor if I have been working hard during the day, but sometimes even when I haven’t been so busy.  I feel so exhausted that I can hardly put one foot ahead of the other.  Lying down for an hour or so seems to revitalize me and I can feel remarkably well after a short rest.  The second is equally interesting from a different perspective.  One of my first and obvious symptoms of PD was that my right had shook.  Now it hardly ever does.  I am surprised that the shaking has virtually stopped. 

Another, but unrelated, situation has happened in connection with my prostate cancer.  I have been attending the Cancer Clinic in Halifax for years and been examined by several doctors.  Last week, as my PSA score has remained very low, the Doctor in charge dismissed me from the clinic.  He will take me back if or when needed.  I still have two cancer doctors that are not associated with the clinic, so I have not been left out in the cold.

The deck is finally done.  The last item was a load of dirt to fill in behind the moved stone wall and very fortunately I had help with that.  My grandson Steven, his wife Tanya and eleven week old Marshall are visiting for a few days and both were more than willing to help move the top soil.  We also started to clean up a rough corner at the back of the yard and will plant grass seed there sometime soon.

A few more guests will be coming.  Susanne and Jeff have bought a house            not too far away in Dartmouth and Susanne will be coming for a look at work that needs to be done before Isabelle (and friend) can move in for university in September.  Howard and his family will arrive in August for a week, but will be staying at Heather’s place.  It has been and will continue to be an interesting summer.