Dear listfriends: A few weeks ago, I shared with you Myron Greene's
account of the exposure to CO which he believes caused his PD--and that of
his brother. Myron has been reading the posts on this subject which I
printed for him, and found them very interesting--thanks to all who
responded.
I asked Myron, who was a founding member of our Oxford,Ohio support group
more than 10 years ago, if he would tell you all a bit more about himself,
especially as Jerry Finch was asking for personal stories...here is Myron;s
account of his PD experience, and how if felt to him...:
**********
MYRON GREENE'S STORY
September, 1976 was to be a fateful month for Barbara and me. Barb was 40,
and I was 36, and we had been married for about a year. Neither of us had
been feeling up to par for a long time, but we did not know why. We both
had been given complete neurological examinations by Dr. Reed in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and Barb needed to have a spinal tap performed before a
diagnosis would be made.
As we sat in Dr. Reed's office waiting for him to return with my diagnosis
I thought, " I hope he can tell me something--anything--good or bad,
because I am so worn out from whatever it is after 9 years of living in
this hell."
{ It had begun with a vague feeling of nervousness in my chest, tense thigh
muscles which would not relax, and feelingtired most of the time. The
problems increased over the next few years--stooped posture, festination,
retropulsion, freezing (feet glued to the floor), slowness in walking,
micrographia, difficulty smiling, tremors, anxiety and panic attacks,
inability to concentrate at work, lack of confidence, low self esteem.
People would notice these movements and would comment, or ask "why?", or
sometimes just laugh. I couldn't explain it to myself, let alone to
others, so I avoided people or made up stories.
In 1972, I lost my job, my family, my home, along with losing my health.
At the age of 32 I moved back in with my parents in Eastern Ohio, feeling
completely defeated by life. I felt like I had fallen into a deep, dark
hole, with no way out. One evening the following summer, I finally
realized I did not have the ability to remedy my situation; throwing up my
hands I said, "Lord, I give up. I can't do it. You are going to have to
take over my life, and if I'm ever to get out of this, you'll have to do
it." The next day, a former boss contacted me and offered me a job with
his new consulting firm in Southwestern Ohio.}
Upon returning to Barb and me, Dr. Reed said," Myron, you have all the
symptoms of Parkinson's disease, plus others that are not PD. I don't have
a label for it." He gave me a prescription for Sinemet 10/100 and loaned
me two books from his private library, saying he would see me in two weeks.
I felt relieved that now I had an answer, and also somewhat hopeful that
maybe I could have a normal life again. I took one of the pills as soon as
we arrived home. About 30 minutes later, my feeling of hope was bolstered,
as I could actually feel the stiffness leave my body....I had been born
again!
Barbara was to learn within a month that she had Huntington's disease,
which attacks almost all areas of the brain, leaving the patient a
vegetable. And there is no treatment for this devastating killer. Barbara
passed away on December 15, 1996.
*************
If Jerry Finch would like to add this account to the webring, I know Myron
would be pleased.
Camilla [log in to unmask]
Oxford,Ohio
http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/camilla/one.htm My Home Page
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*"In all beginnings, endings lie enfolded,*
* implicit and invisible as roots."...CHF *
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