Bucks County Courier Times, PA
July 29, 2003 5:14 AM

Parkinson's won't keep him down
By DANIEL MCQUADE
Bucks County Courier Times

Bob Aster, 61, likes to bowl, play bingo, watch the Eagles and lift weights.

The Bensalem man stays active, but a few times a day he loses his focus and falls.

Aster always gets up, grabs his red walker and continues on his way as if nothing happened. He's had Parkinson's
disease for the past 26 years - and still, he considers himself lucky.

"You have to stand up more times than you fall. ... I enjoy a challenge, so Parkinson's is right up my alley," he said.

He hasn't conquered Parkinson's, but Aster believes he's done well enough to focus on others rather than himself. So
he's finding ways to give people the advice that he didn't have when he was diagnosed with the disease.

"I didn't have much besides a few self-help books when I got Parkinson's," Aster said. "Parkinson's has ruined my life,
but that doesn't mean I can't help others."

To do that, he wants to write a book. His room has stacks of yellow legal paper with potential chapters scrawled in
longhand.

He also recently wrote an article for the in-house newsletter of Pennsylvania Hospital. It was about his life, his
survival with Parkinson's and tips on keeping a positive outlook despite having a serious disease.

The article, which he says will be the first of many, opens with his tips on life. The first tip is: "Life is too
short. Don't buy green bananas."

Aster learned this firsthand. At 35, he was a salesman in Philadelphia, and his biggest concern was taking care of his
two young children. But he said it felt like his life was suddenly cut short when he started developing symptoms of
Parkinson's.

One day in 1976, his arm wouldn't swing when he was carrying his briefcase. He didn't think much of it or the tremors
that followed. But when the tremors get worse, he went to see a doctor.

It took six weeks for Aster to get an appointment for a CT scan, which takes a three-dimensional X-ray of the body. The
scan confirmed that Aster had early-onset Parkinson's.

The disease is a chronic, progressive disorder of the central nervous system. It depletes brain cells that produce
dopamine, leaving Parkinson's patients unable to control their movements. That typically results in tremors.

Early-onset Parkinson's usually affects people under age 40, and is similar to what Aster calls "regular" Parkinson's,
which affects people about 60 years old.

No one knows the cause, although research has connected it to a combination of heredity and environmental factors, such
as a blow to the head, a virus or chemicals.

Aster said he thinks his Parkinson's was caused by chemicals he was exposed to when he was a salesman for several
Philadelphia chemical companies.

Still, he said, he's glad he contracted early-onset Parkinson's rather than the regular disease.

"A 60-year-old man is set in his ways. He sees all his practices go down the drain. A 35-year-old man is still
formulating his goals and aspirations," he said.

Still, Aster had problems accepting his diagnosis. He said he initially denied that he had Parkinson's and went through
periods of deep depression.

During that time, he lived at a Philadelphia nursing home that he said was his "elephant graveyard" - a place where he
thought he would die. Today, he credits his assisted-living community, Hill House in Bensalem, as the most caring place
he's ever been. He's retired now, but is looking for a job to ease the burden on his family, which helps pay the bill
for Hill House.

When he was in Pennsylvania Hospital for a brain operation six years ago, Aster was helped by its Parkinson's support
group. Although it's a bit of a haul, he continues to attend.

Hill House doesn't have support sessions for people with Parkinson's yet, but Aster and Hill House general manager
Jennifer Grant are planning one that will begin in early September.

Because there are very few Parkinson's patients at Hill House, the group will be open to outside residents as well, he
said.

Having support helps Parkinson's patients more than anything else, Aster said. Without the support of his two children,
he said, he wouldn't be able to function.

While support has been crucial, a variety of other things also have helped Aster live with Parkinson's. The drug
Sinemet - actually a combination of two drugs - has stopped his rigidity and his tremors, but causes him to sway when
he sits or stands still. This side effect is better than tremors, he said.

"I'm over-medicated right now. I'd rather have big movement than tremors," he said. "Big movement just makes me look a
little freaky on the street."

Aster also keeps himself in great shape. Once he realized he had Parkinson's, he became active. He began lifting
weights and playing tennis. The Parkinson's gave him a bit of a speech problem, so he practiced calling bingo. He
continues to do so every day for residents of Hill House.

Aster is so active, in fact, that he even got a sports-related injury: He fractured his ankle while bowling. "My
Donovan McNabb injury," he calls it. He returned from that injury to bowl over 200. His average is about 160.

Aster tries to live what he writes about. Grant told a story about a man with Parkinson's who came to Hill House for a
short stay after an operation. He rode in on a wheelchair. During the man's six weeks there, Aster talked with him to
get the man's spirits up. The two exercised together and Aster shared his tips on surviving with Parkinson's. The man
walked out the door with a walker.

Aster said he operates at a level that is comfortable for him, but he'd still like to get better. He said he's
encouraged by the progress made in treating Parkinson's disease over the past few years and he's hopeful his condition
might improve within five years.

"When they develop a cure, I'll be the first in line to get it. "I've waited for too long," he said. "Come back and see
me in five years."

Daniel McQuade can be reached at 215-949-4189 or [log in to unmask]

SOURCE: The Bucks County Courier Times, Pa
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/111-07292003-132666.html

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