Well here goes...

I have Parkinson's Disease.  There, I've said it.  I was diagnosed in August of 2010.  I knew that something wasn't right in the fall of 2008 while I was on a trip to Washington, DC with my son's 7th Grade class, but I avoided a diagnosis because of what I might learn.  I know, I know... that's really stupid but I really was afraid of what was wrong, fearing the possibility of stroke.  Finally after a couple months, I finally went to my primary care physician who did run tests for stroke which came back negative - boy was I glad.  But then I wondered; what was actually wrong?

The first thing I noticed was during the late summer or early fall of 2008 was that it was a little more difficult to turn over in bed.  I would wake up to do this, and not sort of do it naturally - you know, without waking up.  I didn't notice anything else at the time, but PD doesn't sleep - it's always advancing.

Next to happen was I began to occasionally tap my right heel when I walked, or tried to walk normally.  This would always show up when I began tiring and would become steadily worse the more I tired.  The more tired I became, the more difficult it became for me to overcome the tapping of my right heel - like I wasn't or couldn't pick up my foot high enough or something.  This was the second sign.

The third sign was really worry-some.  I began to notice a delay in my right hand that I could not replicate with my left - my right hand was noticeably slower.  I noticed quite by accident one morning while winding my kinetic watch - it winds by shaking it.  With the delay I noticed that if I reached behind me with my right hand that I did not have the dexterity in my right hand that I have in my left, and that I used to have in my right. You know, like when you reach for you wallet in your rear pants pocket.

I continued until August 2010 and upon a referral to a local neurologist and after a barrage of tests, it was confirmed - I had Parkinson's Disease. Since then I've been or at least tried to be, very proactive with my health care.  I have bradykinesia Parkinson's, the kind where you just slow down.

In April of 2013 my new neurologist and neurosurgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Health, performed a uni-lateral DBS surgery on my left side. In short, it's wonderful - I feel more like I've got my life back.  Although it's (DBS) not for everyone, it was for me.

Update 1: As of September 15th, 2014; I now possess bi-lateral DBS implants. That's right, "bi" means two, so I've now got an implant in both hemispheres (left and now right) of my brain and each is powered by it's own battery and logic unit installed in my upper left and right chest.

The down sides of this venture are:
1) You know how I said earlier that I just slow down? Well I meant every part of you just slows down. Not only your movements (which are better at times than others) but my ability to fetch words out of my brain and get them out to my tongue and say actually say them. Now - this can be quite frustrating. I have no issues with the finding of the information I want to say, and once I get it to my mouth I can say what I mean to say, but the whole process of "fetching for comment" is delayed. I still have my vocabulary  intact, I still subscribe to the Merriam-Webster word of the day in an attempt to grow my vocab and I have grown it. However it's more difficult that it once was. When I become very frustrated with this whole delay thing, I get really upset, my stress levels go out the roof, and my medications- mainly the Sinemet that I take begins to be used up - i.e. depleted at an accelerated rate. I can go an average of about four to four and one half hours on a two tablet dose. Stress levels can change for the worse and the amount of time it'll last can be as little as an hour to an hour and a half.

2) Between my neurologist and I, we've decided that it's time to leave the workplace. I was somewhat concerned about the job description requirements. Really the one catch all phrase at the end of the list of tasks that basically says you'll do anything you're asked to do. Since I was concerned about it my neurologist looked into it using a sanctioned job description and basically said this: "if you were a person who's life's work was that of a doctor, a lawyer or self employed where you (meaning me) could have more control over the bending, stooping and straining etc. and daily routines, I would say it's really up to you. However such as it is - this job description is too open to conjecture - the answer is no, I cannot and will not suggest you return to this environment." So, as of the first implants date, I began life as one on short term disability.

Update 2:
3) Growing tired more quickly goes along with it too. I was able to help my wife clean our church 4 to 5 days a week when the first implant went in. After the second implant though, it began to degrade pretty quick. Now I stay closer to the house and do almost everything I need to do in the early morning hours so that by about 12 noon to 2 PM I'm ready to take it easier and get a nap in occasionally. I don't always take a nap though.

4) As of May 15th, 2016 I've just had my first implant's (the left one) battery unit changed. It lasted a little longer than three years - about 37 months. My neurologist said that it's no telling how long the second unit  (on the right side) will last. He says it could go upwards of 7 or so years. A word of caution, make sure your surgical team knows which battery to replace if you have two of them. I was still awake when they asked me and I had to steer them to the correct one, which I didn't mind. The team was glad I was awake to tell them.