My mom just told me this morning that my grandfather probably has Parkinson's Disease. I'm a little ashamed to say that I don't know much about it. Given that, I really don't know how bad that would be for a 75-year-old man. I mean, I know what it ends up being, and I know that when you first find out it's usually not very obvious from the outside that anything's wrong (i.e., Michael J. Fox).

Jeff, Mom and I went over to my grandparents' house last weekend to celebrate Father's Day since my grandparents are out of town this weekend. This all came up because there was something strange about the way my grandpa moved his mouth when he was talking. It was almost like his upper lip was numb with Novacaine. None of us said anything then, but I guess my mom called Gramma later and it all boils down to possibly Parkinson's. Supposedly, his regular doc thinks that's what it is, but the neurologist he was referred to said no. So is that good then? Shouldn't we guess that the neurologist would know best? If not that, then what? My great-grandmother (grandpa's mother) just died a couple of years back. She had Alzheimer's. I assume the two things must be linked somehow, both being neurological conditions.

So I started thinking when we were visiting with my grandparents and seeing Grandpa looking so... Well... old, about my family planning calender (is there anything that doesn't get me thinking back to that this past year or so?). I am crushed at the idea that he may not live to see his great-grandchildren, even though (I hope) it's not that far off. This is especially considering that we want boys and if we get our wish, our first on will be named for him. I really want him to live to know that.

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Before And After

Would I get a discount if I birthed the baby in the store? - 5/16/05
The end is near? - 5/13/05
The progession of me - 5/10/05
Cleaning update - 5/7/05
Pre-nesting - 5/7/05