Keeping in mind Davis Phinney's motto is that "every victory counts," it's nice to have some victorious news to share.
Victory 1: I had an appointment with neurologist and movement disorder specialist, Dr. Avi Kurtz. From the moment that I walked into the appointment, my right hand started shaking uncontrollably. I've complained to him about my right hand tremor in the past, but this time he actually witnessed my tremor for an hour. He paid attention and watched the tremor closely, took notes, changed the Deep Brain Stimulation settings for Parkinson's Disease and asked me which setting seemed better--this setting or that setting--similar to a vision test.
He discovered that the frequency setting was set too high for my condition. My tremor almost disappeared entirely when he reset the frequency. Now that I've had several days with the new settings, there is very little tremor in my right hand, I finally feel at peace without all of that shaking and movement.
Victory 2: I've followed Dr. Kurtz's recommendation of reducing the dosage of one of my anti-Parkinson’s meds by 50%. This has resulted in a major decrease in my dyskinetic episodes (those wild, involuntary movements) in my legs. On many days, my dyskinesia is almost non-existent.
Victory 3: One more victory: A couple of nights ago around dusk, my husband, Tom, took our English Springer Spaniel, Rusty, out for a walk. When they arrived at the park, two little boys (about age 4 and age 7) came up to them, crying and very upset, saying they couldn't find their parents. Tom got the phone numbers of the parents from the older boy, and called the police. While waiting for the police, the kids played with Rusty. The younger boy gave Rusty a full body bear hug and lots of pats. It may not be too late to convert Rusty into a therapy dog. This was a victory for Rusty, Tom and me who adopted Rusty from the rescue and transformed a distressed, fearful dog into a faithful, companion dog, who now seems happy and content. It was a victory for all of us when Rusty showed that he is finally beginning to trust humans.
