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Rick, I also was diagnosed in 1997 and am noticing that lesser ability to do my job or even my work at home or in volunteer groups I belong to. One of my complaints is the fatigue and not ever feeling ready to tackle a BIG project like cleaning closets or canning salsa. Can make me feel like a shirker when I must ask others to help or take over. Then I remember that I'm NOT wonder woman and it's OK to slow down as needed or we find ourselves unable to do the simplest of daily activities and more fatigue results. I'm still tired from having a booth at health fair last Sat AM from 7AM-11AM. BUT I do feel good that info/awareness level of PD is raised in my area. I had a drawing for a copy of "When Parkinson's Strikes Early"(now available at www.Amazon.com and Dr. Lieberman's new book, "Shaking Up Parkinson's"(Hope that's the correct title.)available at NPF site. Your fellow workers can learn from you that you aren't superman and your employer can learn the advantage of keeping you at 80% rather than having 0% if you were not still there. Afterall, anyone of them could have health problems next and will be glad you have "paved the way" for adjusting for a lesser ability on the job. I'm sure we still have more challenges ahead, Rick. Hang tough and PIEN can be a great source of peer support for pwps. Jeanette Fuhr 51/47/44? Rick Herman said in part: I'm 50 years old. Our organization has a private disability insurance policy--the 60% of salary at the time of disability kind of policy--for which I am grateful. I am about to take the first step, cutting back to 80% of full-time, with disability filling in the lost income after a waiting period. It's a difficult step, but necessary. I am optimistic that this will be more manageable at least for a while. I work for a very supportive employer, but this feeling of no longer being able to contribute as much . I like my job. My medications keep symptoms more or less at bay, except fatigue, and I'm not sure where the muddle-headedness comes from. But I just wear out, like the stuffing has been knocked out of me. Co-workers tell me I "look good." This is always nice to hear, but there is the lingering sense of the unspoken "...so why can't you just buck up?" . Also, I wanted to say how impressed I am with the new book, "When Parkinson's Strikes Early," a project accomplished by members of this list. ," now that we have a book full of insightful commentary on the Parkinson's journey by those travelling along the path. The same things will and should continue to be said and shared by all of us. again and again. All those stories are moments in time. Each new moment brings a new challenge--let's keep writing about those and helping one another out. Take care, Rick 50 years old, dx 1997 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn