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---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 24 Sep 95 11:13:09 EDT From: Hein ten Bosch <[log in to unmask]> To: Barbara Patterson <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Welcome Dear Barbara, Thank you for enlisting me and also thank you for your efforts. I was born in Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1935, so I am sixty now. My father was often ill due to tuberculosis of the kidneys. We lived for some time in Switzerland where he was hospitalized. In 1940 the IInd-Worldwar broke out and in 1941 he died due to lack of medical care in war time. I presume he would have died young anyway seeing how fragile his health was. At the end of the war we were starving as there was no more food. So much even that the medical staff of the Canadian army liberating us loaded 2000 children on vans and distributed us at farms in the South of the country to get enough food to recover. I weighed 24 pounds at the age of ten years, was trained in the war to steal wood where I could find it (to burn) and did odd jobs for the resistance. Jerries did hardly monitor little boys doing errands. I have been dreaming of (our) war for twenty years. At 33 my kidneys were operated on as something was frightfully wrong and it almost killed me. Almost though, not really! From then on I played in reserve time and was operated again four years later. in 1979 diabetes was found, or better said, I found it myself. I was put on injections -now four a day- and thought nothing was worse than diabetes. When my urge to tell everybody abated I got pains in my left shoulder, tennis arm, followed by physiotherapy and medicine against pains. Nothing really helped. Three years ago the team of rheumatologist, internist and neurologist gave up and sent me to a psychiatrist. Ten minutes after seeing her I left her office with the verdict PD. All my medic friends apologized to me. Big deal. At first I decided to hide PD and not talk about it. But I could not completely do my work as a publisher anymore. I was tired in meetings and after, could not work the twelve hours I did before. I suggested they give me a complete task, move my office to my home and get me a 50 percent invalidity job-permission from the General Administration Body which pays 70 percent of your salary when you stop for medical reasons in Holland. I still was no member of the PDA in Holland, but was convinced by American email friends I should. After joining last year I still refrained from seeing other PD-patients, hiding my self and being afraid of the future. Then somebody asked to join a group of patients having memory training. It was pleasant, fun even. So I followed an invitation of the PDA to join in a training, seminar and conference for a week which finished yesterday. There were 22 PD-patients, 9 partners, 3 helpers. I am no longer afraid. We talked, wept, confessed and helped each other. It was wonderful. >From today I will simply tell everyone who wishes to know that I am having PD and smiling acknowledge their comments: "yes Altzheimer is awful and yes I am so sorry your sister has MS". Me, I have Parkinson. Sorry for the length of this message. You asked - you got it. Have a good day today. Yours Hein