one thousand

ONE THOUSAND
today as i looked at the counter on my blog its said
999
so when i publish this blog in a few minutes
it will flip over to 1000

i guess thats like when your car flips over to 1000000

when i think about it
i wonder how in the heck did i think of all those things
to write about
and
for someone who doesnt consider himself to be a writer
it still seems unreal that i could have written about
that many things
1000
who would have thought it

this blog started over three years ago when i was still
in practice
i had being thinking about doing one but had never
taken the step to get started
so
one saturday i was outside working in the yard
when i came in for lunch my wife she said
you need to watch this story i dvred about this
lady who wrote this blog that had become extremely
popular

my wife she said you could do that you know

so i sat down dirty clothes and all
and signed up my blog on google
and started blogging

my original purpose was to write about organic gardening
rainwater harvesting solar power recycling green living
and to add a splash of medical stuff using my day to day
experiences in my office to write about the medical stuff


then after a few months i got diagnosed with mild
cognitive impairment amnestic type thought to be from
alzheimers disease
had to quit practicing medicine
was placed on aricept donepezil for the diagnosis
entered as a study subject in the alzheimers disease
neuroimaging initiative (adni) the largest and most
important study ever done on alzheimers disease
a real life changing event

i redirected the focus of this blog some to alzheimers disease
to educate folks about the disease
and
to write about what happens to me with my diagnosis
and how i feel about it
and how my wife she and i deal with it
over the following time ahead when i can continue to write

my condition seems stable maybe a slight drop off in things
some
im hoping to get into a treatment study soon that may show
some promise in slowing down the disease
time will tell on that

the two hardest blogs i have written were

the last day thanks blog

and

the one about my younger brother joe
who had lost his battle with alzheimers disease
even today when i go back to read those blogs i tear up
they also have been two of my most read blogs


another blog i wrote about abbie
a young middle school former patient of mine
about her life being born without
a left lower arm and how she perseveres with everything
she does
she is an amazing student for whom i have a lot of admiration


i hope that i have educated you folks about alzheimers disease
helping you to know what kind of workup needs done
what treatments are available
what research is being done
what you can be doing nowfor yourselves your family
to slow down or prevent the disease
and
what resources are out there for you to help deal with the diagnosis

several people have been routed to alzheimers research studies
thanks to this blog


i also think ive infected quite a few folks with the rainwater collection
virus
something we need more of in this droughty weather we have right now


i also hope that i have inspired and educated you about organic gardening
and have inspired you enough to go out and try it in your yard


then i hoped that i have made you smile occasionally
and

i do want to apologize to my wife she
for all the times ive picked on her
shes a good sport she is
and
she is a good wife

heres to another 1000 postings
and
heres to finding a cure for alzheimers disease


the organicgreen doctor

abbie revisted, whew

ABBIE REVISITED
one of the most popular blogs that ive written
in the 3 years ive been blogging is this one
abbie
(click on it and reread it)

that i wrote about a former patient who was born
without her lower left arm
and how motivated she is to overcome this

in the blog there is a short video of a few seconds of her
doing tumbling flips
still dont know how she does it

if you read this blog just think what would our american
schools be like if all the students were as driven and
motivated as this young lady

one of the best things that happened at our silent auction
for our walk to end alzheimers team was that
i got to see abbie for the first time in three years
she stopped by to say hi
and her mom placed a bid for our organic green
square foot garden
abbie was my patient for several years before i had to
retire from practice

ive kept up with what she is doing through facebook
and contacts with her mom

what a beautiful intelligent little girl
a 7th grader
who was on her way to competitive cheerleading practice
you know like those you see on espn

she also this year made the 7th grade volleyball team
and has had to learn to adapt her disability
well she doesnt ever think she has one
so she can play the sport

she also plans to play basketball and run track
yes shes done these before and is one of the better
athletes in these sports

what made me think of abbie this morning
was i ran across this article on the new miss iowa
and this one
nicole kelly

i thought
wow thats abbie in about 10 years
beautiful
motivated
athletic
compassionate
intelligent

this miss iowa is
just like abbie

yes abbie is the hope for the future
as she inspires her friends and others
we need more of our kids to be like her

WOW

thats all i can say
last night as i watched the eagles outrun the washington team
i had to use the pause button on my remote so i could rest
that was so exciting to watch
i cant wait to see what they do to the cowboys
not sure the nfl is ready for this
using guards as wide receivers
then running the ball

i think the announcers even were getting tired trying
to keep up
and the refs
the washington defense was gassed


the eagles seem to have the talent to go with this system
and
mike vick seems to be the perfect fit for this offense

its going to be a great nfl season
sure hope the eagles games will all be on tv

the organicgreen doctor

mr b

MR B
this blog is about a friend of mine
mr b
hes an elementary student and a former patient of mine

i have tried to keep up with some of my former patients
with facebook and email and this blog its been made easier



theres michael from last year
his story was well documented in this blog titled
thanks michael the hope for the future
yes michael made me cry the day he gave me that letter



then there is abbie who is such an inspiration to a lot of
people
she lets nothing stand in her way
heres is the blog titled abbie

mr b came to most of my larry weekends we had here each
april for the employees and families of the clinic where
i use to work

mr b was fascinated by larry the rooster and all the
country n chickens
(these chicks are laying eggs now and are selling them for
donations for our
organicgreeendoctor.com walk to end alzheimers team)

he as well as the other kids liked to ride in the trailer
pulled behind my lawn tractor

he liked my rainwater systems and i think he got infected
with the rainwater virus also
he started with putting 5 gallon buckets and anything that would
collect water under the gutters
when his mom told me about it i donated an extra rainwater
collection barrel to the cause

he now tells me this ones full so when i took him on a
recent tour of my favorite organic garden center he really really
liked the big green 10000 gallon tank there












he told me he wants one like that in his yard
maybe where his trampoline is
maybe mom will get that for his birthday

he was also my walking buddy for the
walk to end alzheimers last year
he was walking for his grandmother who died
recently from this terrible disease

but the common feature of all of these kids are that they
are our hope for the future
mr b talked freely with me about green issues and how we
need to do more green things like collect rainwater save water
do solar and wind energy collection stop polluting the air
drive energy efficient cars
grow more vegetables
this is an elementary kid now
there are thousands of these kids out there now thinking
about our future and ways to solve our problems

sure hope some of them go into politics
maybe the politicians should be talking to these kids

thanks again michael abbie and mr b
you guys are our hope for the future

the organicgreen doctor

mothers day, post abbie, ad classifications

MOTHERS DAY
on sunday i will pause and think about the two mothers
that have been important in my life

this is my mother
she would be 90 years old
she raised 8 children
the wife of a baptist minister
she was loved by all of her kids and all that knew her
she was a nurse and loved her profession

she was devastated by alzheimers disease in the last stages
of her life but
we remember her today during the best times

the other person
is my wife she

shes a good mother and a good wife and
a good sport for allowing me to pick on her
in this blog

shes a special person
will be thinking of her on mothers day
love you

POST ABBIE
what response to the blog on abbie
it is a special story
pass it on to those who would benefit from reading it
when you think you cant do something in life just think of abbie
you can do it
she did and does

AD CLASSIFICATIONS
there are three new levels in the new diagnostic classification
for alzheimers disease

pre clinical azheimers disease-you and no one else notices anything

mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease-you and others notice changes

dementia due to alzheimers disease-those changes are more obvious

the preclinical phase can last for several years before symptoms start

the mild cognitive impairment starts subtly then advances to more
obvious symptoms after the process has been smouldering in your brain
for all those years

dementia due to alzheimers disease occurs when those processes start
damaging the brain and start snowballing in their effects
its the downhill roll that occurs with alzheimers disease


preclinical

the red line the 1st line
beta amyloid starts to form and accumulates in the brain

if my younger brother had  tests in his mid to late forties on his spinal
fluid
they would have found decreased levels of beta amyloid
and on a beta amyloid pet scan they may have found some accumulation of
beta amyloid in his brain

my beta amyloid in the spinal fluid is reduced
i dont know my results of the research beta amyloid pet scan but plan
eventually to have the amyvid pet scan for beta amyloid

the orangey line the 2nd line
the synapses those nerve connections in the brain start to get damaged
if you measure glucose metabolism in the brain at this stage you may start
to see some loss of glucose uptake on a fdg glucose metabolism pet scan

at the beginning of this he would still be working without noticing anything
and
later as it progresses up the red and orangey line he will began to notice
some subtle things that others wont notice

this is where i enter the picture with the very early noticing of things
my fdg metalbolism test is normal

the green line the 3rd line
the damage is done to the nerve cell
things unravel in the cell and release a substance called tau
which can be measured in the spinal fluid

as the green line progresses upwards the symptoms he notices become
more obvious to him but probably not to others
the beta amyloid would be increasing in his brain and decreasing in the
spinal fluid
his tau protein levels would be increasing in the spinal fluid
he was in the middle of his second career as a policeman

i entered above and this is where i am now
my tau protein is increased and is in the borderline range

mci

the blue line the 4th line
the damage is occurring and on a mri there starts with subtle
changes in volume in the brain in the area of the hippocampus
that controls short term memory

at this stage the symptoms are becoming obvious to my brother and to
those around him
he actually sought medical help but was mostly ignored

i am not at this stage yet but am just where the purple line the 5th line
is beginning

the purple line the 5th line
this is where things start to take off
cognition begins to show up as worsening

the black line the 6th line
this is clinical functioning
this is how well your are functioning in the real world

as this line takes off and crosses the 2nd dotted line is where my
younger brother was officially diagnosed
short term memory was a problem
getting lost driving was a problem
at this point spinal fluid would show high tau protein and
low beta amyloid
fdg glucose metabolism pet scan would show progession of the decreased
uptake of glucose by the brain
a beta amyloid pet scan (like the amyvid) would show more involvement
of the brain with the beta amyloid plaques
a mri would show some brain shrinkage and changes in the hippocampus

he would have to quit working at this point
their life just changed significantly

after this point the lines all continue to increase and things just
get worse

where exactly am i
im at the first dotted line and if i follow my younger brothers path
i am 5-10 years behind him
hope its the later number

get tested if you have symptoms

the oganicgreen doctor

abbie

ABBIE
this blog of more than 500 blogs  ive written
is one of my best stories i think that ive written about
its also one that has made me cry several times as i wrote it

abbie is a special person
she is a 11 year old 5th grade dynamo
if i could choose a daughter or granddaughter
i would want abbie to be her

watch this video
then go below and read abbies story
youll be inspired
i know i always was and still am

abbie was my patient for several years before i retired
i always enjoyed seeing her
she was such a normal kiddo
she was smart smiley bright happy obviously intelligent
healthy and
seemed well liked by her friends and her siblings
she i will admit was one of my favorite kids to see even though
i rarely saw her because she was so healthy

abbie has been the typically active kid
playing multiple sports such as soccer swimming tball track and field
and dance
she regularly bicycles and swims
well she does what all other kids her age do

her favorite sport though has been competitive cheerleading
and tumbling
in fact she is working on a full twisting layout

this video above is one where she is practicing her flips
you know the ones they do at the ball games that make me
dizzy just watching them do it
what sense of balance and athletic ability they have to have

what makes this video and abbie doing all this amazing is that
abbie was born without her lower  left arm


now knowing this go back up and rewatch this video ok


when your kids whine i cant do it have them watch this video
and tell them abbies story

as my wife she says
wow
thats amazing

and when i saw abbie i saw abbie
i like most people that really know her dont even notice she is
missing her lower arm as
her personality and smiley face and intelligence masks that

if you know her then you know what i mean

what an inspiration to us all
and especially to kids
who may need some motivation

when she was a baby she learned to crawl
when she was four she locked herself in her room and
came out four hours later with tied shoes

she struggled with the monkey bars and you guessed it
she figured out how to go from bar to bar without falling
but it was painful to watch her fight to do it
but she finally did it

she paints her own fingernails and yes she changed her siblings
diapers when they were younger and that cute ponytail she wears
she puts her hair in it herself

when she was in the 3rd grade she wanted to attend a 3rd-5th grade
basketball camp-she had never played before

at award day on the last day mom attended and was shocked as
abbie won
1st place in the one on one tournament against 5th graders
1st in layups
1st in freethrows and
of course she won the ms hustle award

that tells a lot about who she is

thats also when her mom realized that abbie was special and could do
anything she wants to do
that she can

then
3 years ago abbie asked for a prosthetic arm
she went to shriners and was fitted with one at several visits
she wore it to school but on the way in she took it off and put
it in her backpack never to put it on again
she realized that it changed who she was and interfered with how
she does things
she probably wont ever wear one
(its now used to pull pranks on people)

she doesnt give much thought that she is different
in preschool kids would always wanted to know what happened
to her arm
she does sometimes tire of the questions from people
but doesnt really feel any different from other people

she has lots of friends
teasing has never been a problem for her

when asked who her hero was
its her best friend g
her best friend since she was 2
g will do all those things abbie wants to do

abbie is an entrepreneur
she has sold lemonade walked dogs swept porches and even
did a backyard restaurant for kids only last summer

she is an all a student
she is in the quest program
she has been first and second runner up in the school spelling bee
she is on the destination imagination team
where they have to do creative problem-solving
something abbie has always done

she wants to be rich and famous
she has this drive that will get her there
its inside her little heart

no doubt that will happen

she wants to attend the university of texas
and of course be a cheerleader there

they dont know whats coming their way

so
abbie is a special kid
maddam president abbie
dr abbie
counselor abbie
judge abbie.........

she has no limit to her future
some lucky guy will find her one day

abbie i miss seeing you
you were a joy to see each time i saw you
even if it was with your siblings office visit
you are an inspiration
we wish you the best for the future

you are our hope for the future

the organicgreen doctor

it wasnt me, taters, abbie

IT WASNT ME
i told my wife she that wasnt me
i know i had cooked some potent pinto beans
but that wasnt me

recently homeowners in the austin area awoke
because of vibrations in their homes
ok one home with vibrations would be one thing
thats why my wife she accused me
but multiple homes
it must be something else

the fire departmeent was called
the sheriff department was called
no it wasnt from a block party bbq
where potent beans were served to all

it as it turns out was from methane being released
from a landfill
methane is the by product of the landfill
apparently a release valve was damaged by recent storms
(thats always my excuse a damaged release valve)

those guys that live in that subdivision sure are lucky
now when their house 'vibrates'
all they have to say
its that landfill again

tried that one on my wife she and she didnt
accept that explanation
we do live close to ft hood and ive blamed 'vibrations'
on them when they are shooting their big weapons

TATERS
last saturday before we went on our chicken tour we had to
go to the farmers market to pick up the map of the tour
while there we picked up some veggies that werent quite ripe
yet at our place

we saw this amount of organic red potatoes for sale for $4

these are from my garden
i couldnt help it i had to come home and dig some of mine
these are from one of my plants
and i have over 30 plants
i cant wait to dig them all up later this month
now if my green beans were ready i could make green beans
and new potatoes for mothers day

ABBIE
tomorrow i will be doing a blog on a special little girl named abbie
it is an inspirational story
read it  tomorrow

the organicgreen doctor