#239 Parkinson's, Falls, and Flowers

 #239 PD, Falls, and Flowers

Upper Butte Creek Falls, OR

The photos in today’s post fall into two categories. First is a set of old photos finally accessible on my hook up of external hard drives and my main computer. The subject of the photo set will in a very twisted way fit this post’s Parkinson’s disease information. The second set are all new photos taken in the past couple off weeks. Now on with the show ( thanks, Ed S).

Glen Etive Falls, near Glencoe, Scotland 

PD and Falls

Glencoe, Scotland

Many of the main motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease are balance issues—tremors, dizziness upon standing, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), freezing of gait, rigidity or stiffness, and others. All these conditions increase the likeliness of falling so much so that 60% of those diagnosed with PD will experience one or more falls a year. And any kind of fall is usually not good.

Horsetail Falls, Columbia River Gorge,OR

Latourelle Falls, Columbia River Gorge, OR

My own recent history with falls might serve as an example. Shorty before I was diagnosed with PD (March, 2023) I had two falls that certainly would indicate balance problems. While on a photo tour of the Rio Grande valley near Taos, NM, I misjudged the height of a rock I was on and jumped down a slope higher than I had anticipated and strained a thigh muscle. Before that incident I had a fall in Death Valley when I stepped off a sidewalk onto what I thought was dirt (turned out to be slick mud). I slid and couldn’t catch my balance and fell into the road. Two locals helped get to my feet. Lots of bruises from that one and one lost camera lens.

Linn of Braan River, Highlands, Scotland

Glen Lyon Roman Bridge, c 1600s

Sma'glen Burn, central Scotland

Since my diagnosis of PD I have journaled about thirteen different falls—simple things like sliding off the bed onto the floor and stumbling into a sand trap on the golf course from a sloped edge. Most of these have had only mild consequences—a bruised hand or arm, or mild embarrassment. Some though have been more serious. At the Canby Senior Center in December I stumbled over a slight roughness in the parking lot and hit my face on the pavement. The Canby Fire Department had to send the rescue truck to help me get up and check me out. No permanent damage. Luck me. A month ago I stumbled over my shuffling feet in the bathroom and hit the floor hard. Lots of sore spots that still hurt, but no big damage. My last fall was while getting into bed I missed the bed and crumpled to the floor hitting my head a glancing blow on the wall and straining a thigh muscle. I am now using a walker while giving my leg a chance to heal.

Small burn in the Birks of Aberfeldy Park, central Scotland

Burn O'Vat, Cairngorm National Park, Scotland (Anne's picture)

So far I’ve been lucky and not done major damage to any thing important, but the falls are dangerous. Broken bones are always bothersome, but some, like broken hip, can be debilitating. Concussions and head trauma are a major danger and along with hospital stays for surgeries can increase the risks of Parkinson’s Dementia. Like with my last fall, injuries from falling can increase the risk of decreased mobility. One of the dangers of falling that absolutely makes good sense is a lessening of self-confidence, which both protects us and restricts us. I’m finding the loss of confidence harder to deal with than much of the physical pain.

Rumbling Bridge Falls (one of many), Scotland, taken by Anne

Anne at Multnomah Falls in Winter, OR

To end this look at Parkinson’s and falls I quote a statement I heard on Bryce Perry’s Parkinson’s podcast: “Those with Parkinson’s Disease are one good fall away from a very bad day.”

Daylily

Very Local Flowers

Canby is located in a very flowerful area. Within our grasp are The Oregon Gardens in Silveerton, forty-five minutes away. Parks such as Molalla River Park and Champoeg State Park are even closer than the big gardens. There are plenty of flowers to browse at shops like Bauman’s Farm and Al’s if you’re looking to plant your own garden. 

Dahlia Fantasy

So why did I limit myself to the very local flowers in our home garden? Two falls, doctor visits, appointments to radiological labs to see that no structural damage was done by the falls, and several planned visits to Speech Therapy and specialized Movement Therapist is why. I was just too tied up to go far afield. Besides, Anne does a nice job of caring for her small garden and it deserves to be shown. The one flower not in our garden is the lovely daylily of our next door neighbor Stan—anyway, the flower is next to our shared driveway, so it’s practically in our yard.

There you have it, Parkinson’s, Falls, and Flowers. Next will be a surprise….for me as well.

#238 PD Numbers, Facts, and Photos

PD Numbers, Facts, and Photos.  This post goes into some of the statistics about Parkinson’s Disease, presents a few “who knew” facts about the condition, and photos from my back files from 2011 and 2012 just for the fun and beauty of them.

Not a luxury stay in north Scotland village.

PARKINSON’S DISEASE BY THE NUMBERS

Anne tees off on the 3rd hole at St Fillans GC. We were members of the club for 10 years.

Black Headed gull

       

        — 1.2 million Americans live with PD

— 90,000 new cases are diagnosed in US yearly, that’s 200  new cases a day

— 100 sufferers dies from PD related causes a day

— Over 10 million individuals are affected globally 

A "Force" (waterfall) in the Lake District in England.

The Falls of Dochart in central Scotland during the rainy season, January through December.

Gannet 

— Men are 1.5 times more likely to have PD than women

— Approximately 15% of people with PD have a family history with the disease, 85% don’t

— Approximately 4% of PD sufferers are diagnosed before the age of 50, it’s called  “early onset”

Stone circle near Killin in the Highlands.

Maes Howe, a neolithic burial tomb, on Orkney Islands with double rainbow.

— Combined direct and indirect costs of PD (treatment, Social Security, lost income) is expected to be $82.2 billion in 2026

— The cost is expected to rise to $112.6 billion by 2045

— Medications average $2500 yearly per individual 

— For professional treatment, 50% see neurologist, 9% see movement disorder specialists, 29% see primary care physicians, 11% seek other treatments [My treatment team consists of my PCP, neurologist, specialized movement and voice therapists, and caregiver Anne.]

— Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually by private foundations and non-profits on research, clinical care, and professional training related to PD ($100-$300 million yearly by Michael J Fox Foundation, $40-$50 million annually by The Parkinson’s Foundation, and lessor amounts by others).

Scottish Thistle

Branklyn Gardens in Perth, Scotland

PARKINSON’S “WHO KNEW” FACTS AND INFORMATION

*Parkinson’s Disease hits every individual differently. No two people necessarily have the same symptoms, or the same timing of symptoms as anyone else.

*Non-motor symptoms (constipation, depression, sleep disruption, anxiety, fatigue, problems of cognition, pain, ED) can be more troublesome than major motor symptoms (bradykinesia or slowness of movement, resting tremor, rigidity, loss of balance).

*Most PD patients will experience micrographia — small, cramped handwriting that gets smaller as you write. My handwriting has gotten harder to read, but it does save paper. 

Anne at Machrihanish Dunes GC about 5 miles from Paul McCartney's estate in Scotland.

*If you die from a PD related cause, you have a much lower risk of dying from an auto accident. 

NEXT: I'll see what I can find, Maybe a mix of old and new.

#237 Parkinson's, Special Garden Shop, and Photos

#237 Parkinson’s, Special Garden Shop, and Photos

Arrowhead GC, Molalla, OR

While traveling in Scotland, playing and researching for our golf books, we discovered [Sure. like we were the first to notice.] an abundance of interesting farm shops. Establishments like Gloagburn Farm Shop (Tibbermore near Crieff), Balgove Larder (Strathtyrum Farm, St Andrews), Househill Farm Shop and Cafe (near Nairn), and the Storehouse farm-to-table restaurant (south of Dornoch) all became regular stops for Anne and I as we traveled the country. We were glad to find that we had a similar shop in our area. But before I detail Bauman’s Farm and Garden I want to share some more information about Parkinson’s Disease, the fastest growing neurological condition in the US.

For photos in this post, besides the photos of Bauman’s, I’m starting with some golf photos—since I’m constantly lifting my head on a shot when I’m supposed to keep my head down, I thought I’d show what I’m looking at when I lift my head. Then I’ll end the post with a short photo surprise. 

Either Godzilla or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle over the GC

Parkinson’s and the Gold Standard Treatment

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a movement disorder where the best treatment is often movement. Exercise can be the best aid to fighting some of the major seen and unseen symptoms of the disease. I am currently in a program called SPEAK OUT! where I am learning exercises to strengthen my voice and swallowing muscles—loss of speaking ability and volume is a very common PD condition if not controlled. But the Gold Standard pharmacological treatment of major symptoms is with dopaminergic drugs designed to help produce more dopamine or maintain the dopamine left in the brain—by the time most people are diagnosed with PD we have already lost up to 80% of our movement controlling dopamine in our brains. In fact, one of the clinical diagnostic tests to see if someone has PD is to see if symptoms respond to Levodopa treatment.

In my case I talked to my family doctor about a list of things that were happening to me such as slowness of movement, freezing (not being able to move), resting tremors in both hands, and more. The list indicated PD, so the doctor put me on a regime of Carbidopa-Levodopa, one pill three times a day. I responded well, so “Welcome, Bob, to the world of Parkinson’s!” There is no evidence that taking C-L (the Carbidopa is an anti-nausea drug to help tolerate the Levodopa)  has any affect on the progression of PD, but it does help reduce symptoms. I now live pill-to-pill and can definitely tell when my C-L kicks in (about 20 minutes after taking it) and when it’s run out (about three hours after taking it). Eating, driving, exercise, working on writing projects are now controlled by my pattern of taking Carbidopa-Levodopa. For me right now this pattern is 1-1/2 pills at 7:00AM, 10:30AM, and 2:00PM, and one pill at 5:30PM and just before bed at about 10:30PM.  And this pattern will change as the the progression of the disease advances.

But nothing is simple with Parkinson’s. Sinemet (another name for C-L) works for now, but it will eventually stop being as effective at controlling symptoms. When that happens I’ll go into a whole new system of controls that I have yet to explore. In the meantime, I also have to deal with the side effects of Levodopa which comes with it’s own laundry list of problems—nausea and vomiting, orthostatic hypertension (drop in blood pressure), psychiatric effect (like hallucinations and anxiety), constipation (one of the most common and troublesome), daytime sleepiness, impulse control difficulties, and dyskinesia (abnormal movements or gait). As I’ve said before, Parkinson’s Disease is an adventure—not an enjoyable adventure and one I’d wish on no one—but an adventure all the same.   

A Near Farm Store

Bauman’s Farm and Garden (12989 Howell Prairie Road, Gervais, OR, 503-792-3524, www.baumanfarms.com near Woodburn ) has been a family farm since 1895. A small market was started on the land called Howell Prairie in 1988. The farm store grew bit by bit: first vegetables, then flowers, and a small bakery. Now Bauman’s Farm and Garden has a large bakery specializing in donuts, fruit pies, and pastries using Oregon’s own Marionberry. The store also has a large food store for produce, fruits and vegetables, and gourmet foods—the mushroom steak sauce is one of our favorites—along with the sweets, of course. The green house shop has flowers, plants, and local advice. The garden center has a broad array of edible gardening, hanging baskets, annuals, roses, trees and garden supplies. When you want a break from shopping, or to fortify yourself before shopping, visit the deli/coffee shop with sandwiches, soups, sweets, wines and ciders.

Nice Farm Shop lunch, but bad photographer's timing. Sorry.

Bauman’s hosts several special events during the year including Spring Open House (March), Gardenpalooza (April), Harvest Festival (Sept/Oct), among others. We miss visiting the farm stores of Scotland, but find that we have one at least as enjoyable and closer to home in Bauman's.

Saw Ed H, a golfer friend, working in the shop.

Starting to load the car with our treasures.

Hooray! I've finally broken into my storehouse hard drive of earlier photos. Here are a few of my favorites, with hopefully more to come.

Himalayan Blue Poppy

Branklyn Garden in Perth, Scotland