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Marling -- I'm 48 and have had idiopathic PD for about 3 years. Eleven months ago I also had surgery to take 12 pieces of bone & cartilage from my right elbow (osteoarthritis) and "reposition" my right ulnar nerve. The ulnar neuropathy I had was quite severe - claw hand syndrome, intense chronic pain, muscle wasting, etc. It was so bad that even after the surgery both my surgeon and my neurologist noted zero percent nerve conductivity, and said my ulnar nerve was effectively "dead." For the first time since my diagnosis of PD I felt despair. My left hand was in a state of constant PD tremor, and essentially useless, and now my "good hand" couldn't grasp a pen or hold change from a vendor. Malaise soon became what I thought was fatigue, and it wasn't long before I was sleeping 18 hours a day. I wasn't aware that I was clinically depressed. The story, however, does have a happy ending. I'm not a religious person; I'm not affiliated with any church or spiritual organization, I don't read the bible, the torah, the koran, or the works of the Buddha. I do, however, believe in what I simply refer to as the Eternal -- that which created all that is. And I asked this remarkable creative force for a "miracle." And a miracle is what I got! Ten months after doctors declared my hand dead, it suddenly came to life. The clawed fingers began to straighten and -- as if someone had waved a magic wand over my hand -- I regained muscle tone and strength. I now have 90% of my function back, and although I still struggle with chronic, moderate depression, I KNOW that miracles are part of our "ordinary daily lives." Martin Bayne [log in to unmask]