It's been a while since I've posted...don't know why. I've had plenty to write about.
I'll start off with my appointment with the neurologist. It had been a year, and a visit was long overdue. The nurse put me in a patient room, and I waited for the doc to come. Now I know why they call it a patient room (think about it!).
The doc comes in, takes a look at me, and says, "I don't think you have Parkinson's." Apparently I didn't appear to be screwed up enough! He did a few tests while my wife and I were there, and was even more intrigued. So he scheduled me for another couple of tests, one being a sleep study, and the other being one where chunks of skin with a diameter of about a BB. For those who've never had a BB gun, that's .177 of an inch.
The sleep study was interesting. The only thing that it really revealed was that I have about 10 times more involuntary movements than a "normal" person. Nothing I didn't really know, but I didn't know it was 10 times! We're still waiting on the results of the "punch the skin" test. My wife, a very intelligent nurse practitioner, has doubts that the doctor is right.
My wife has been there when I've appeared a little more "screwed up," and believes my steady hands during the doctor's visit was an anomaly. I'm inclined to agree, but I'm trying desperately to stay in the "denial stage." She said she saw improvement when I was taking Gocovry, so she made me keep taking it.
Yesterday I had a life-changing event. Backing up in time a little bit...
A few months ago I was driving somewhere I forget where, and started to feel a little fuzzy, mentally. I started having those episodes where you're driving along and you catch yourself falling momentarily asleep. Anybody who has driven for many hours with little sleep knows what I'm talking about. Next thing I know, I'm rolling slowly through an intersection with drivers on all sides looking at me curiously, wondering what the hell I'm doing. Must have been real interesting, because nobody was blowing their horn. That scared the shit out of me.
So yesterday. I'm driving to an eye doctor appointment, and about a mile away, started feeling that fuzzy feeling again. I was approaching the on/off ramp to I-75, and decided to stop at the next possible place to take a break. That next stop was perpendicular to the on-ramp curb, destroying the "walk/don't walk" light, and ending up on the grass on the other side. I've had accidents before where I fell asleep, but I attributed that to working 10 hours a day, an hour and a half away from home. Obviously, I can't blame it all on a job this time.
In all those accidents, I never hit another vehicle...a miracle. But these two recent incidents have made me take a real hard look at myself and just how many times I've been lucky. And I've realized that I owe it to every driver and pedestrian to stay off the road. Apparently falling suddenly asleep is another symptom of Parkinson's Disease. I will now rely on family members, Uber, Lyft, and my feet to get where I have to go.
Does it suck having to rely on others to be my mode of transportation? OMG. I don't have many friends because I'm pretty much a loner. Losing an aspect of independence that will now have me relying on others is a huge, bitter pill to swallow. But all my life I've taken pride in my code of ethics, and I don't plan on changing now. I will do what it takes to keep from harming anybody.
Life throws you curves, and I must learn to swerve. OK, I stole that one from Rascal Flatts.
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