Jeff Illinois Diagnosed 1996 We catch the BIG and small. We also practice fish CPR. (Read all about it, below.)

My New Friends at the "Edge" I have been trying to think of a way to inform all, those who are members and those who visit the web site "The Edge of The Forest," who is Jeff and what is he about. How do he and his family cope with the everyday problems of Parkinson's, does he have a support network or not, is he employed and how does he handle the routine of work and Parkinson's, or is he fortunate to be able to collect disability from his employer and the Social Security Administration. What does Jeff do for relaxation, entertainment? Should I tell of an incident that creates good feelings, joy, and brings warmth to one's soul? Should I be matter of fact, very business like, or happy and go lucky? Or should I combine all into just one description, a bunch of words that at times as you read you ask yourself what did he say, but to him it is perfectly clear what he has said. Well it has taken thirty minutes to get this far, I guess I may be here forever and no one will see my great writing experiment. So hang on to your britches and here we go. Autobiographical Information I was born and raised in northeastern Illinois in what is now referred to as one of the collar counties of Chicago. I grew up as your typical wild-eyed car-crazy kid who loved anything that had a motor and raced. My grandfather use to say that no sooner than I could say my name I was telling him the make of cars as they drove by as we sat on the front porch. At the ripe old age of six or seven I got my first driving lesson from my uncle Gaylord. He operated the pedals as I drove, or should say pointed, and shifted that old 1948 Oldsmobile. I spent many a pre-teen summer on my uncle's farm, driving tractors and of course any car or truck that I could reach the pedals. Then came my racing years. My mother and father seemed to have many discussions about my racing. My mother complained about me spending all my money I made doing odd jobs on racing, and not saving any money, with my father responding to leave me alone because she knew where I was at and what I was doing. Today I think my father enjoyed those years as much or more than I. Next came the education and sometime spent in the military. The education was never completed after the military but I did collect enough collegiate hours to allow me to have a good working career. My working career was made up of thirty-three years of employment with the Dial Corporation, with twenty-five of those years as a rotating shift production supervisor. I worked with various units that operated by using high pressure steam (90#, 150#, 600#, 800#) and either were operated under vacuum or at high pressures. We received and unloaded on a daily basis 740,000 pounds of raw fats and oils daily, which were processed into fatty acids which was then used to produce Dial bar soap. Life With Parkinson's Now that you have read most of my past it is now time to talk of the present or maybe my life since I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. My symptoms were fairly simple. The winter of 1993 I noticed my right wrist was still sore four to five months after the motorcycle riding season had ended and I thought nothing of it as my wrist had been sore almost the entire motorcycle season of 93. The 1994 season was one of the right wrist being sore the entire season and into the winter of 1994-1995. I went to see my doctor over the 94-95 winter because it was time for my annual physical and I decided to have a few other things checked. I told my doctor of the problems with my wrist and that I found that occasionally a pencil or pen I would be holding would just slip out of my hand. The doctor ordered some physical and occupational therapy for me and within six weeks my wrist felt the best it had felt in years. August 1995: I noticed my wrist starting to get sore, I was losing some strength in my right hand, and the pencils were dropping from my hand and I could not close my hand fast enough to catch the pencil before it was out of my hand. I put off going to the doctor but finally told myself I had to go and find out the problem with my wrist. When I saw the doctor he wondered if I might have carpal tunnel or Parkinson's because he noticed a small twitch or tremor in the thumb on my right hand. My doctor then recommended two neurologists from whom I could choose to see about the possibility of having Parkinson's and meanwhile I got started doing the physical and occupational therapy. I saw the neurologist in early February of 1996 and he started some testing of my fingers on both hands and my upper and lower extremities. The neurologist also noticed some posture problems as I walked with some movement problems in my upper and lower extremities. He then asked me about any movement problems with my arms or legs and I said there were none that I was aware of. Only later after diagnosis did family and friends state that they had noticed some problems with my posture and extremity movement. April of 1996: The world did not come to an end for me being diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease but my perspective on life took a change. The first thing I did was to educate my self on Parkinson's disease. Thank goodness for a family computer that made researching Parkinson's easy. I am no computer whiz and still am not but the home computer should be in every house with all of those patients who have neurological diseases. The computer has helped me so much in learning about this medical problem. At times it seems an unlimited amount of knowledge is contained in there. Telling Others I did not talk or inform friends or my co-workers for many years. I finally broke my silence when people started to question me if I was ok, because my energy level seemed low and it was taking me longer to accomplish simple tasks. Occasionally I seemed confused, not making all the decisions at work that I normally did without having to ask the operating personnel questions about the procedures and results. I was fortunate enough to work some strange hours to make my job easier for myself. Only later did my superiors ask me to work a certain set of hours everyday to which I responded if I could choose the hours that would most benefit myself with my Parkinson's. They did not like the alternative I had put forward, but I was performing not only my position but 75% of the work of two other positions, where personnel were not replaced due to staffing reductions. With years of prodding from family members and after noticing a steady decline in some of my skills, October 1, 2002 I informed my superiors that I was going to apply for short term disability, and then apply for long term disability when my short term disability expired. At that meeting they all acted surprised at my announcement, and I had spent a better part of a year telling them I did not know how much longer I would be able to work. I was asked why I was going on disability and my simple reply was "quality of life" issues. October 15, 2002 was my last working day. I was fortunate that one of my benefits was a long term disability benefit, which I chose to participate in. The company gave the employee the choice of the benefit, but the benefit was fully funded by the participating employee. Well do you still have your britches on, have you lost interest, or you asking yourself who is this wind bag? He never talks this much during our chat sessions. He has more to say? Heaven help those who help themselves. Oh my goodness, he is not finished. Searching for Answers I am often asked by people familiar with Parkinson's if I was ever exposed to welding fumes, or pesticides or did I have a family history of Parkinson's? My answers would be yes, yes, and no. Because of the type of work I was involved in and the constant expansion of the facility, large tanks being built to hold different material and environmental equipment, to clean the air and water as technology improved, and removing asbestos which was in the pipe insulation. Yes, I was exposed to my fair share of welding fumes and other air pollutants that no one I worked with showed any concern, until years later. I spent many a summer or parts of summers, on my uncle's farm as a young lad, but my exposure to various pesticides was very limited. My uncle was a man who believed that pesticides were not good for the soil so he used them very sparingly. Never were my cousins or I ever permitted into a field that had been sprayed until at least three days after the spraying. My father passed away in October 1979, his youngest brother passed away six months later and his other brother passed away eight years later. But luck was with me in that my father's two sisters were still with us when I was diagnosed. Both agreed that they knew of no family history of Parkinson's on either their father's and mother's family. So I guess I am the lucky one that I have Parkinson's, because my father and his brothers and one sister had heart disease or colon/rectal cancer. My father's youngest sister is still with us but her heart is not exactly well. So here I am almost nine years into Parkinson's with no other health problems. It almost makes me feel jealous that I have not inherited cancer or heart problems. I guess one could say I have more of my mother's genes in me than what appears at the surface because my mother's family lives forever--well into their eighties and beyond to even the century mark. I guess then I am destined to live a life of many years with the devil I call my companion. So I hope you will excuse me occasionally in my reference of PD as a devil or companion, because that is what helps me get through everyday life when it is not going well. I spend many a moment during the day imagining a tranquil lake or stream in the woods, where it is only I savoring that brief moment. Then perhaps I may share at some time in the future that moment with a friend, a family member and even a stranger, that one moment that brought peace to me. Family as a Support Group When one thinks of a support group, most of us would say a group of strangers who meet at a certain place, on a certain day at a certain time. Then there are the different groups that cater to a certain ailment. But we all have the best support group of all - FAMILY. Family, whether it be your companion, a child, a grandchild, brother or sister, mother or father, kissing cousin, all make a support group for those of us who have Parkinson's. Family members watch our struggle with life daily. Our friends and acquaintances who do not observe us on a daily basis, all wish or want to say "I am sorry." Please do not say that to me , for someplace in this world is a person who suffers more than I and has no one to aid them, in good and bad times. I support my family in a way that we are not afraid of the here and now or the future. We talk to smooth over that rough patch of road. We openly discuss my problems, but more, we discuss their problems and how I can make them feel better and to enjoy life. I guess I had better say I have been happily married for thirty plus years. We were blessed to have three children who survived their parents and all the trials and tribulations in today's world. Now we anticipate the birth of a second grandchild in late May or early June. Unlike so many families today spread across this USA, we are lucky that all of our family is within one hour of the old homestead. A Passion for Old Cars and Fishing Now that you have read the incoherent ramblings of one person, who is this person and how does he persevere? I am not your forward outgoing person, but just a man who enjoys the simple things in life. I have a garage full of old Chevy and Corvette parts. Do you know anyone interested in some parts? I am still the car nut, except now the cars are bigger and faster and more expensive that when I was a kid. Ginnie and I have traveled many a mile in those old cars. Some trips more memorable than others. But always having fun, meeting new people and seeing old acquaintances. My passion as my wife puts it is the old cars, a 1979 Corvette coupe from Florida with 18,800 actual miles and we are the third owners. Next is a 1978 Corvette coupe that Ginnie drives. This car is a Chevrolet produced 1978 Corvette Pace car replica. Chevrolet built one Pace Car per dealer in 1978 that totaled just over 6000 cars produced. We bought the Pace Car with 6000 original documented miles with Ginnie being the fifth owner. Then there is Jeff's pride and joy, a 1956 Corvette Roadster. I had always wanted a Corvette and after many years of saving money in December 1987, I purchased the "56". Nothing special with the car except that it had two tops, a soft top (convertible) and a hardtop. Presently the "56" is being restored to the day that the car rolled off the assembly line in 1956. I had always wanted to do the restoration when the time arrived, but my Parkinson's put an end that happening. (Photo: Cleaning the Old Car) For relaxation I fish. There is what once was an old limestone quarry about two miles from my home. This is where I do most of my fishing. In June of 1996 we received nineteen inches of rain in twenty-four hours. One of the few good things from the flood was the quarry got flooded from a near-by creek. No power boats are allowed in the quarry lake which covers about forty acres. The quarry is difficult to fish because about five to ten feet from the shoreline the depth goes almost to fifty feet. I also fish a state park lake about thirty miles from home. We also go fishing to Michigan's upper peninsula for two weeks of CPR (catch, photograph, release). Yes we do keep fish to eat, it is that we practice CPR approximately 80% of our catches. Closing Thoughts Parkinson's has slowed me a bit, does not allow me to do some of the things I want to do, but I still persevere. Parkinson's will never get me down, because I will not allow that to happen. I shall not let this disease control my life, for I must be present to aid those who need aid. So the ramblings of Jeff are over and yes, those of you who are still hanging on to your britches, you can let go now. Besides you look pretty funny there hanging on to your britches. To all of the women here in the Edge of the Forest web site forum and/or chat room, just remember when you think I am not listening ………………………………………………………….

Backto the Edge of the Forest