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Hello -- Interesting points. What about a statement such as cause of death being "complications resulting from Parkinson's Disease?" By all means, rant on. :-) ;-) Carole Menser PWP Ted (54/46/40) Northern California -----Original Message----- From: William A. Parrette <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Saturday, March 02, 2002 12:17 PM Subject: On life, death, and definitions (just a tiny rant) :-) >Hi all, > > I hope that what I am about to write here doesn't make me > sound emotionless or like I have no feelings. Take this into ac- > count along with the fact that I am on the Digest and at times am > forced to read them a day or two late due in part to my work- > travel. And, please understand I am not flaming anybody nor am I > trying to start a flame-war. > > But the recent postings about Parkinson's causing death made > me twinge more than just a little. And, even though I haven't > posted recently, the number of times that this emotional state- > ment was made -- and the absolute, indisputable, surety with > which the statements were made -- finally got to me. (the reli- > gion-oriented tag-line may have had something to do with it too. > (-:) > > So please note that the following is In My Humble Opinion: > > I've only been dealing with this dis-ease for about six years > now. But, as I understand it, Parkinson's is a label placed on a > variety of neurological symptoms and conditions for which there > is no other name, cause, or cure. Whether the symptoms include > Bradykinesia, Dyskinesia, Micrographia, Ataxia -- what ever -- > the Parkinson's label is attached to the condition if the patient > responds favorably to one of the "Parkinson's medications (usual- > ly the combination of Carbidopa and Levodopa)." > > It is also my understanding that the current medical thought > and theory on the dis-ease is that it is caused by the lack of > Dopamine-producing cells in the Substantia Nigra area of the > brain. And, if this is true the only way that they are currently > able to make that determination -- the lack of the Dopamine-pro- > ducing cells -- is in an autopsy. > > I may be "splitting hairs" here. But, as much as I've tried > to make my thought processes more right-brained, I seem to be > fairly stuck in a left-brained body this time around. And, as is > typical of a left-brainer, I happen to have a need for having > things in order, organizing things, and having exacting ideas and > definitions. > > Again, please note that the following is In My Humble Opinion: > > Nobody dies *from* Parkinson's. The lack of specific brain- > cells whose only known purpose is to smooth the movement of mus- > cles when in the waking state doesn't cause death. Instead, > IMHO, that a person may pass over *as a result of* having Parkin- > son's. Maybe it's something different than being left-brained, > but I do *NOT* believe that Parkinson's is a fatal dis-ease. > > I may pass over after falling down some stairs (which I have > unfortunately had some experience with recently )-:), or not be- > ing able to move fast enough to get out of an emergency situa- > tion, or not being able to swallow my food, or not being able to > step on the brake in my car quick enough, or trying to beat the > train at crossing the tracks, or not having a parachute open > correctly for me, or falling overboard on a boat trip, or refus- > ing to be fed intravenously, or any of a thousand different > things. But, in any of these cases, Parkinson's did not *CAUSE* > my passing -- *HAVING* Parkinson's caused it. > > Well, that helped. The knot in my stomach has loosened up and > I feel better. Thanks for listening, thanks for helping me to > blow off a little steam. I'll go back to lurk-mode for a while > (after all, nobody has posted about computers and the 'Net re- > cently (my reply specialty (-:)). Everyone take care, be well, > and always grok in fullness ... > >Bill-- > ...who is a little sad today because he ran over his Dogma with his Karma. > >.. William A. Parrette ...... 7177 Heritage Drive ....+------------------+ >.. [log in to unmask] .............. Westchester ............| (42?) | >.. [log in to unmask] ......... OH 45069-4012 ..........| ___MMM___ / | >.. [log in to unmask] ..... 513/779-0780 ...........| (0-0) | >.............. http://w3.one.net/~wap/ ...............+-oOO--(_)--OOo----+ > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn