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Hello, my name is Dawn Tilton. I have signed up for this list, not because of myself but becasue of my husband Craig who has been diagnosed with Parkinsons. About 10 years ago I noticed that he did not swing his left arm when he walked. Seeing as though my husband was always involved in sports, he attributed it to a pinched nerve in his shoulder. After watching it go on for a while I insisted he see a doctor regarding it. Well, one thing led to another and after years of being tested for different things, my husband has been diagnosed with Young onset Parkinsons Plus. Craig is 45 and as of two years ago, he is now disabled at home. I am a Human Resource Manager and work 45 minutes from home, and we live in the country and are not eligible for any of the resources available to those who live in the city (i.e., the only transportation method he has available to him is either paying for a taxi which is costly, his motorized scooter or family members who are at home during the day). My challenge with my husband is trying to find creative ways to keep his mind active. His days are mixed (some go by with few spells, and others are one complete spell after another). Craig does not have the sever tremors, he mostly has the disconesia. He has some computer access, but always being involved in sports makes it difficult for him to sit still. Just recently we have made day-to-day arrangements with different people who gave him a ride to allow him to be an assistant basketball coach at our Middle School. He will be doing the same for the softball team this spring. I would love to get my husband involved in a "positive" support group setting that will help him overcome the many mental challenges that he faces. The State of Maine only has a small support group which is about 1 1/4 hours from our house, and it consists of older patients who are facing different challenges that Craig is facing. Craig has recently found out that he is a possible candidate for the new pacemaker procedure, so I would love to hear from different people who may know of, or have had, this procedure done. He will be meeting with his doctor in March to pursue further treatment. Craig can be reached at our home at [log in to unmask] I am sure he would love communicating with different people who he can relate to. Thank you. Dawn. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn