Daily Archives: 2014/04/30

PARKINSON’S DISEASE

    . . . in sickness as in health . . .

    I had thought to be first to leave since you were
    . the one called upon to do the caring, and you soon did
    . as you stood always by me.
    Now I’m not so sure as you descend into your
    . own private hell of illness, PD –
    . Parkinson’s Disease.
    I dreamed last night of a time when you ran up the ladder
    . while carrying two bundles of shingles on your shoulder
    . something you can no longer do.
    I wasn’t worried then but I do worry now –
    . all the “I” sounds above are not about “me”, but about what
    . “we” are – in this together.
    Yesterday we met with Parkinson’s friends to share
    . news and humor (always mixed with pain) –
    . the only place where PD can be funny.
    Sallie wants her PD to “just go away” but says so
    . with laughter and everyone laughs, too,
    . because they know PD doesn’t “go away.”
    We laugh with Peter, who, like many others “freezes”
    . while walking forward. He can only move then
    . by walking backward.
    Once at the airport he “froze” after clearing TSA, then
    . had to walk backwards all the way to his gate and
    . onto the plane – no one even questioned him.
    Some PD people “freeze” but can be “unfrozen”- or
    . is it “thawed”? – by only a touch. Others must be led from
    . the front or pushed from behind.
    Some “freeze” if they try to step on a stool, or step on a line
    . or crack, or maybe the opposite is true, they can only
    . walk if ON a line or crack. Crazy.
    We discussed ways of coping with loss of balance, constant pain,
    . garbled speech, which medicines cause trouble for some
    . but not others, and the things doctors don’t know.
    Susan is newly diagnosed and wants to know if anyone
    . else has trouble with speaking, drooling, falling
    . sleeping, vivid nightmares, leg cramps –
    The three Dans, Deanna, Peter, Sallie and Bob answer as best they can –
    . Susan asks quietly, “Has anyone lost their sense of smell?” All
    . hands go up. She looks relieved.
    After all this is only a “movement disorder” that
    . makes your arms “shake a little bit.” I once heard a
    . doctor on the radio say so.
    He evidently has not seen anyone in the throes
    . Of dyskinesia, or shaking from head to foot, or walking
    . by running rapidly on their toes and moving mere inches at a time.
    Nor has he seen anyone who has not
    . slept more than minutes for what seems like months – as
    . they cry out for nonexistent help.
    Just before leaving I briefly touch again on a matter that intrigues
    me, one that PD people do not often discuss, even
    amongst themselves, and certainly not with doctors –
    “How many of you believe you were born with PD?” Eyes always
    drop as almost all hands reluctantly raise. No one, and I do
    mean NO ONE, will tell their doctor this.
    If a patient did, would it matter to the doc? Or would he think the person
    is assigning too much importance to tracing the cause of
    his illness, or maybe think he’s just crazy?
    You see, no one knows what causes PD. There have been no real
    advances in meds or treatment for nearly twenty years. Big things
    are always just around the corner.
    Until the Big Things happen, we live with what is. I hope you
    know how much of this I share with you as I clasp your trembling
    body in the night.

INVASION AT FORTY-MILE

WHICH CAME FIRST, CHICKEN OR THE FEDS?

A few years ago my youngest daughter and I decided to drive the Top of the World Highway, which runs from the Alaska Highway near Tok in Alaska to Dawson City in the Yukon Territory. The border crossing is at a tiny town named Chicken, population about 17, depending on the time of year. The road splits at Chicken and the Taylor Highway goes north about 32 miles following the Forty Mile River to Eagle, a small town on the Yukon River. The drive to Dawson City is beautiful and we had a great time, but we had to stop for awhile in Chicken when my daughter’s chronic illness caused her some problems. We were in Chicken long enough to know there is nothing but wilderness anywhere in the whole Forty Mile area. It is impossible for the inhabitants to have any secrets.

There are miners who hold placer mining claims along the Forty Mile. They sluice for gold only in the summer months and most of them bring their wives and children to help with the work. There are clean water regulations that the miners must follow so they don’t pollute the river and the State usually has agents out checking the mining sites and settling ponds once or twice a summer, just to make sure only clean water is released back into the river. The agents travel alone and carry arms for safety against bears and other critters. Once in awhile a miner might be cited for a minor infraction, but it’s no big deal, and the miners and agents have traditionally had a good relationship.

At the end of August, 2013 miners and their families were startled when at least 6 or 7 heavily armed Federal agents dressed in combat gear, including body armor, driving military vehicles and wearing large police signs began showing up at their mining sites, looking and acting as though they were ready for battle. Over several days they searched around cabins and outbuildings, threatening and trying to intimidate the miners and their families, who were totally mystified by the visits. The miners called Alaska State Troopers and the Governor’s office demanding to know what was going on. The Governor called the EPA and was told that the State Troopers had asked for help from something called the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force because of “rampant drug and human trafficking going on in the area.” The Troopers said they knew absolutely nothing about such a request, nor had they ever heard about such charges. The Troopers denied they were involved in the raids at all and said the harassing agents from the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force came from several different federal agencies, including the EPA.

The Alaska Dispatch reports that Alaska’s lone US Representative, the Senators and the Governor have looked further into the matter and demanded an explanation from the EPA, but to date no response has been given.

Alaskan’s are angry over this matter, and anyone who has ever been to Chicken and Eagle can only wonder how “rampant drug and human trafficking going on in the area,” could possibly be a reality. Where would the trafficking come from and where would it go? I mean, attempt to haul anything through or hide it in the Forty Mile? Get real.

The Cliven Bundy matter in Nevada is another ratcheting up of domestic militancy by the EPA, the BLM and other federal agencies. All done with blessings from the top of this ruinous regime.

Chicken came before the Feds, but they just want it gone.