July 8, 2012. In the Beginning

I wonder when this whole thing started.  Because the changes are so subtle, there is really no way of detecting the onset.   I know that it was considerably before I was diagnosed at 49.

My wife, in hindsight, points to instances of "freezing up," a few years prior to diagnoses.  I remember, in 2003, profusely sweating while taking a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk on Miami Beach.

One professional, whom I respect, believes that since there is no history in my family, of Parkinson's Disease, that it may have resulted from a car accident that I had in 1981.

Nobody has convinced me that I am wrong about my belief that there were subtle indications in childhood.

My legs would at times shake.  I was unusually awkward.  People attributed this to the fact that I was very tall.  In all honesty,  I grew out of most, but not all, of the awkwardness.

Why is this pertinent?  Because if they are ever to cure the disease, they may have to do so at the early stages.   But how do you get a young person or their parents to consider Parkinson's is the cause of minor affectations?   I wouldn't do it. And, as far as I know, nobody is considering the possibility that it could start in childhood.