“The Lost Intruder, the Search for a Missing Navy Jet” is largely about shedding old identities, which allowed me to create fresh characteristics and behaviors based on who I wanted to be. Wiping my identity slate clean was daunting. But…
Part Two: When even coffee turns—Parkinson’s sneaky demons.
The reconstitution of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) symptoms after Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery is slow, but the path well-worn from previous travel. My single prescription medication, Rytary, is a Levodopa-based drug like the Sinemet that had grown clumsy in 2014…
Part One: Living with Parkinson’s Disease after Deep Brain Stimulus (DBS) surgery.
Now in my 14th year since Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis at age 43, life is more vibrant than ever in physical activity and meaningful social engagement, offering up moments of rewarding personal reflection. Although not diagnosed in “old” age, it…
Creative wonder
Over the past three months, I’ve had the opportunity to travel and speak about my experiences of self-discovery and the lost Intruder. At each venue, invariably a stranger will seek advice on how to tailor my personal lessons to their…
Open letter to North End Fitness
“Although I owned a boat, I had no sonar, metal detector or any practical method of surveying the ocean bottom. With an incurable illness, no prospect of financial reward, little chance of success, brain surgery looming, and one child in…
Smashwords interview of Peter Hunt
What inspires you to get out of bed each day? The prospect of touching a single individual and making a positive difference in his or her understanding of life, especially if they have Parkinson’s disease. I strive to be the…
Gifted a Life Ring–Farewell to Eric
Eric did not come empty-handed when he pulled his full-sized pickup truck into my driveway late last spring. As I approached the driver’s side door, he abruptly floored the accelerator, causing the big V-8 to thunder in neutral, what I…
Appreciating the rain
Perhaps like most people, I grew up loving the sun and grumbling about the rain, not-so-secretly wishing that the summers would last forever. It never crossed my mind to question this assumption, maybe because the clear sky meant running and…
Being lost
How hard we work to stay distracted, desperately shielded from the smallest honest glimpse; surrounded by idols and walls and carefully contrived paths to nowhere; setting up the game to rules born of obscure fancy. Until that rare person pierces…
Walking the dog
Two and a half years ago, I was walking the family English Golden Retriever through our rural neighborhood. It had only been a couple of months since my Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery, and I was having difficulty relaxing and…