Monday, May 25, 2009

In case you think you've seen everything....

...you haven't. Unless you've watched this video of a man playing his banjo during his Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. Sadly, he was not cured of his banjo habit. There was also a tense moment when a nurse and the anesthesiologist absentmindedly began clog dancing while the surgeon chanted
"Swing your partner, Doe-si-doe! To the brain's deep part we go! It's not far, no country mile, drill that burr-hole mountain style!"
Disaster was averted when they found the patient could not perform a Buck-and Wing, and everyone was brought back to their senses.

I looked into this extensively, and can reassure everyone that playing the banjo has not been added to the battery of tests that a surgical candidate must perform to qualify for DBS. In fact, most teams prefer something soothing, and would appreciate it if patients could render a little light jazz on the pan pipes. Also on the approved list: Bassoons, dulcimers, Irish harps and ocarinas. Needless to say Theramins are forbidden in most operating rooms.

Must run. I need to work on my rendition of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" arranged for pan pipes.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Keeping a Lid on the PD Beast: New Coping Resource




Here's an inspired idea from the Northwest Parkinson's Foundation. It's a place for those who deal with this problem to post the tricks that they have come up with to hobble the PD beast. It's called "The Tip Jar"








What are you waiting for? Click here to go there. GO!

Monday, May 4, 2009

PD Machismo



My bike parked in a "temporarily able parking" spot outside my doctor's building. I rode there and back from home. It would have been a total victory if I hadn't frozen in the hall for a while.

Festinate forward!