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Dear Don: Anyone who has as many friends here on the list and elsewhere as you do should not be so sad and discouraged. One of the hardest things to do is to be able to take a final walk through that door that represents all the things you were able to do so well in all those years gone by. But when you pass through there must be something to take the place of what you can no longer do to keep your brain active. My husband and I are going through the same kind of trials that upset you so much, and we know how you feel. I have had to take on the role of the bad guy more often than I like to keep him safe. One of his greatest pleasures had been working in his woodshop. He could make just about anything he or I wanted or needed, and it always turned out well. As his PD progressed, I had to persuade him, for the sake of his fingers, to give up most of his power tools one by one. Lately his attempts to do the simplest tasks, like painting a board or using a screwdriver, result in a botched job, thanks to tremor and dyskinesia. Its heartbreaking for both of us. He was a business teacher who could type without errors at warp speed. Now his efforts are slow and full of errors. He tries to be philosophical about it, but it depresses him. Another of his pleasures that he has to bid farewell is keeping our family financial records. He taught accounting, but the entries he makes now in the check register are often impossible to read correctly, and the bank statements don't reconcile smoothly any more. The best I can do is provide love and support and take on more of these duties. He now supervises my miserable attempts to handle the books and his ego is still intact there since I still count on my fingers. He continues to putter in his workshop in his short windows of on-time, but he gets so engrossed he forgets that off-time can come on suddenly. I am considering brushing up on the "Fireman's Carry" technique in case he gets stuck outside the house when I have failed to "nag" him in on time. Don, its tough, but you need to give yourself some slack. Your brain is full of great ideas for tools and devices to make work easier. Instead of doing all the work yourself, why not learn about the simple pleasures of bossing someone else around while they follow your instructions. You can practice on Vivian! Never mind the spelling, we can translate just fine. The things that are happening to you have nothing to do with being dumb or old... your mind is working better than many a young whippersnapper's. Its just that PD won't allow your brain's orders to reach your muscles properly. We hope you got your pet back safely. Martha and Neal [log in to unmask]