This article appeared on the bottom of the first page of the Metropolitan
section  of  the Dallas Morning News for Sunday, 29 November, 1998.   You
can also access it at
http://www.dallasnews.com/metro-dfw-nf/dfw503.htm
but I copied it here for benefit of those without a browser.


                     Dallas-Fort Worth news

                                    Ailing judge says faith
                                    sustains him

                                    After recent re-election, Hartman
                                    speaks candidly about life with
                                    Parkinson's

                                    11/29/98

                                    By Ed Housewright / The Dallas Morning
News

                                    Re-election always has been a snap for
State
                                    District Judge Merrill Hartman.

                                    He hasn't faced an opponent since he
joined the
                                    bench 14 years ago.

                                    Winning again this month was especially
sweet
                                    because he overcame gossip about his
health that
                                    was fueled by his worsening tremor,
obvious
                                    stiffness and sometimes blank expression.

                                    Judge Hartman, who opened the first
legal clinic in
                                    South Dallas and has a volunteer
service award
                                    named after him, suffers from
Parkinson's disease.

                                    And he can no longer hide it.

                                    When some began saying that the
Republican civil
                                    judge perhaps wasn't fit for another
four-year term,
                                    lawyer friends spoke out on his behalf and
                                    circulated a neurologist's letter that
said Judge
                                    Hartman's mental condition was
unaffected. They
                                    pointed out that many prominent people,
including
                                    U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, have
                                    Parkinson's, a degenerative disease
characterized
                                    by muscular rigidity and tremors.

                                    "I didn't want to lose a good judge to
somebody's
                                    scare tactics," said Frank Finn, the
lawyer who
                                    organized the effort. "That's what I
saw coming.
                                    His physical condition has nothing to
do with his
                                    mental alacrity, fairness or
impartiality."

                                    Judge Hartman, 59, speaks candidly
about the
                                    unwanted changes the neurological
disorder has
                                    brought to his life. The judge, a
deeply religious
                                    man who teaches Sunday school, said it has
                                    strengthened his faith by making him face
                                    weakness.

                                    "I have experienced now what it means
to have no
                                    control," he said. "Parkinson's is
surprisingly
                                    limiting. You're surprised you can't do
all the things
                                    you used to do, and that your body is
doing some
                                    things you don't want it to do.

                                    "This has helped me sense my own
powerlessness
                                    over life. I think it's given me an
insight and
                                    empathy into other people's situations."

                                    His most noticeable symptom is a
pronounced
                                    tremor in his right hand that comes and
goes
                                    unpredictably. Sometimes, he spills a
glass of
                                    water. If he's driving and the shaking
begins, he has
                                    to steer with his left hand.

                                    Judge Hartman was diagnosed with
Parkinson's
                                    two years ago when he was otherwise
healthy. He
                                    had to give up his hobby of playing the
drums. He
                                    has still been able to pursue his main
avocation -
                                    photography. He has photos of his
family and the
                                    outdoors throughout his Lake Highlands
home.

                                    During an interview, the tremors began
and then
                                    stopped, over and over.

                                    "It's cooking now," he said at one
point when his
                                    right hand started quivering.

                                    Judge Hartman gives frequent speeches,
and the
                                    shaking is distracting, he said.

                                    "It's like somebody pulling on my
sleeve when I'm
                                    trying to talk, or somebody going psst
in my ear
                                    when I'm trying to express a thought,"
he said. "I
                                    can concentrate better if I don't have
to constantly
                                    look over there and wonder if it's
going to shake
                                    off my body.

                                    "I'm thinking, is this as distracting
to others as it is
                                    to me? It's like somebody waving at
you. Are you
                                    looking at their arm waving so much
that you're not
                                    concentrating on what they're saying?"

                                    The judge has other symptoms besides
the tremor.
                                    For instance, he now walks slowly,
taking small
                                    steps. When he stands, he's sometimes
stiff and off
                                    balance.

                                    "My aunt in South Carolina, who I
hadn't seen in a
                                    long time, said I looked like a little
old man
                                    walking," he said. "When she saw me
coming up
                                    the drive, she said I looked like I had
aged 20 or
                                    30 years."

                                    Parkinson's also has softened his
voice, making it
                                    harder for him to be heard. That's
ironic, he said,
                                    because he's a former Justice Department
                                    prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney
who had a
                                    booming courtroom voice.

                                    In addition, the disease has flattened
his facial
                                    expressions.

                                    "I'll be less responsive to what people
are telling
                                    me," he said. "They'll come in and
smile and tell me
                                    something and expect a response. They
don't see
                                    one, and they're thinking, 'What's he
mad about?' "

                                    Judge Hartman takes a daily handful of
pills to
                                    reduce his symptoms. Often, his doctor
adjusts his
                                    medication or switches drugs to try to
improve his
                                    condition. There's no cure for
Parkinson's, which
                                    afflicts more than half a million
mostly older
                                    Americans.

                                    "I've been fortunate that there are new
good
                                    medications out that relieve a lot of
the symptoms,"
                                    the judge said. "I continue to hope
medication will
                                    get better and better."

                                    Surgery is an option for some
Parkinson's patients.
                                    A probe is inserted into the brain to
destroy the
                                    portion that causes tremors. Actor
Michael J. Fox
                                    announced last week that he has
Parkinson's and
                                    has had such surgery.

                                    "If it wasn't brain surgery, it would
be a lot more
                                    attractive," Judge Hartman said. "I
would consider
                                    it if the tremor becomes so distracting
that I can't
                                    concentrate or do ordinary things."

                                    Judge Hartman, a former college swimmer
who
                                    rode motorcycles until he became a
judge, doesn't
                                    dwell on his condition. He continues to
lift weights
                                    regularly and walk three miles a day.

                                    "Once I got clear that I had a movement
disorder
                                    of some kind, I started processing what
it meant
                                    almost immediately," he said. "I did
not want to
                                    wallow in self-pity and did not want my
life to be
                                    about my disease. I wanted to be a
person doing
                                    what I was supposed to be doing, who
also has
                                    Parkinson's."

                                    He said he doesn't ponder how much his
condition
                                    may worsen. He still would like to be a
judge until
                                    he reaches the mandatory retirement age
of 75.
                                    Parkinson's doesn't affect life
expectancy.

                                    "I could get hit by a truck or drop
dead of a heart
                                    attack," Judge Hartman said. "To get
worried, you
                                    have to come up with a forecast first.
I don't know
                                    that I'm going to live a long time. I
don't know that
                                    I'm going to have a debilitating disease.

                                    "Worry is just something you do to take
you out of
                                    the game. I take it a day at a time,"
he said. "I'm
                                    just happy to be here and have all the
blessings I've
                                    got."

                                    His wife, Sally, has been extremely
supportive, he
                                    said. They met in the fifth grade at
University Park
                                    Elementary School and have been married
for 38
                                    years. They have three adult children,
including a
                                    daughter who is a local lawyer.

                                    "He's handled it with dignity and
grace," Mrs.
                                    Hartman said of the disorder. "He's a
man at
                                    peace. He's really enjoyed the
outpouring of love
                                    from all his friends and all the many
people he's
                                    helped over the years. All those people
seem to be
                                    thrilled that maybe they can do
something for him
                                    now."

                                    He hasn't lost his sense of humor, she
said.

                                    "We still laugh a lot," Mrs. Hartman
said. "We even
                                    laugh about the tremor or how slow he
is. I think
                                    for all of us, the initial reaction was
'This is just not
                                    fair. He's such a good man, and why do
bad things
                                    happen to good people?'

                                    "But I think we've come to see that he
isn't afraid
                                    and doesn't pity himself, so no one
else should pity
                                    him either."

-30-