April 25, 2011

Hi Everyone:

Thanks for checking in.We had a pretty dull week last week, I have no health news to report. I'm playing in a charity golf tournament on Wednesday. That should make for good fun. So, tune in next week.

Marc

April 18, 2011

Hi Everyone:

Sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday, but I just had too much to do. Sandy and I had a visit from two of our best old friends from our Wichita days, Linda Bowman and Jim McConnell. Linda and Jim live in Medford, Oregon, and they stopped off in Kansas City on their way to the Akron, Ohio, area. Jim is recently retired from the Forestry Service, so they purchased a new "teardrop" camper that they plan on pulling behind their Prius on their many future camping expeditions. To get what they wanted at the best price, they chose to drive halfway across the United States to pick up their little baby. This total lapse of good sense, which can be attributed almost completely to Jim, is our good fortune, because it meant that they could plan a stop in Kansas City.

I had a bit of a rough day on Friday; I seemed to be adapting to the effects of the Mirapex, so that I was feeling symptoms toward the end of each dosage interval. This all changed upon Linda and Jim's arrival, however. We introduced them to Oklahoma Joe's, and we talked until the wee hours of the night, which means I was in bed by about 11 PM. I was feeling great, though, and never felt symptomatic the rest the evening. Friends tend to affect us that way, don't they?

Saturday was an even bigger day. I had enrolled us all in a 5K charity run for pediatric cancer. Linda, Jim, Alyssa, and I did the 5K and Sandy walked a mile, and waited in the cold for us to return. I held the group back time-wise, but we finished together in a far from record time, still a bit cold but fulfilled; it's been a long time since I've run any distance at all, so it did seem a bit of an accomplishment to start my day. And the cause is so important.

After lunch, we drove Jim and Linda around the Power and Light District, which gave them a good view of the Sprint Center in Kansas City's latest downtown playground. It's beautiful down there and the day was turning equally bright and comfortable. Rather than stop, though, we moved on to the Country Club Plaza. This has been Kansas City's showpiece for 50 years, and we still enjoy walking around the area showing off Kansas City to our guests.

Saturday evening we had a great dinner at the blue Koi, one of our favorite restaurants in town. It seems that Sandy and I are always in the mood for some of their dumplings splashed generously with "awesome sauce". The dumplings were delicious as usual. Finally, we capped the evening with a concert by Bela Fleck and his entourage at Johnson County's Community College. Their music defies stylistic categorization, but all three musicians wowed us with their technical brilliance. And here I was at the end of a very long day, feeling very tired, very fulfilled, and basically, symptom-free (well, I had faithfully taken my Mirapex all day long, but the effects never appeared to be wearing off).

Yesterday, we had to give up our friends to the road, and Sandy and I lapsed back into our routine, trying to catch up on things that were already stacking up at work. I got some exercise in yesterday and already today, however, and the day is off to a great start.

So, it appears that I respond well to visits from friends. Be sure and book your reservations at hotel de Fey well in advance. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Marc

April 11, 2011 update

Hi Everyone:

Last week was especially uneventful; under the circumstances, that's a good thing. I have felt good emotionally, so I stopped taking my antidepressant/sleep medication last Sunday. I think this has left my mood unchanged; maybe, it's a little better, because I've been less sleepy. To top it off, my sleep has been good without the drugs.

The only thing I'm taking now is the PD drug, Mirapex, and a natural sleep aid called Beautyrest. Beautyrest is mostly melatonin and grape skin derivative. After five days, I look like a young Michael Douglas! I wish I had found this years ago!

I plan on running a 5K charity race next week with Alyssa and my long-time friends Linda Bowman and Jim McConnell from Oregon. Tune in for a report next week.

Have a great week.

Marc

April 4, 2011 update

Sorry that I'm a little late with this posting. I was prepared to put it up last night, but was so tired by nine o'clock, I just turned off the light and went to bed.

There's not a lot to report this week. Things were busy at work, and I handled the load reasonably well. I do get tired, though. I have class on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:15 to 4:55. I'm completely bushed by the end of class, but again, I think I'm holding up reasonably well over the class period. My voice is really good, even by the end of class. I've got several manuscripts in progress, and they're moving at a much faster pace now than was the case a few weeks ago. As always, we're busy tracking down new participants for our ongoing studies.

I'm up to the full recommended dosage for my PD medication. I'm not sure that this is optimal, and this week I hope to test some other possibilities. Stay tuned.

I think everybody in the speech-language pathology universe must have seen the YouTube video below. If you haven't seen it, click it or paste it in your browser. It's a hoot!

http://www.madeformums.com/baby/twin-babies-talking-in-their-own-baby-language-becomes-youtube-hit/13087.html

Until next week,

Marc