Team Fox 2025 Fundraiser Donations

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Gunsite 250

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Gunsite 250 I almost did not go. The trip was not planned very far in advance, and my main goal was to get Charlie into the youth 250 class.  Money has been tight, and I was planning to spend the week working.  I asked for and received approval to work remotely . . . and then spent a few weeks pondering what I should do.  All of this was really just a smoke screen that I was using to hide the real issue:  fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of being embarassed in front of my peers, fear of not meeting the instructors' expectations. Fear that I would not be able to find even a small piece of the old me, and that there was nothing left to find.  Fear that the younger, healthier "two-gun Greg" from years ago at a place that no longer exists, was simply dead and gone.  I did not expect to finish the week.  To be honest, I wondered if I would make it through the first day. So what happened?  Why did I change my mind and go?  I w...
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DBS part 2

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To understand why I chose to move forward with DBS--and why I chose to do it now--some background is needed. First, there is the concept of 'on' and 'off'.  In the world of Parkinson's, 'on' and 'off' refer to the effectiveness of medication at any point in time, in terms of how functional you are.  Generally speaking, if you can do the things you want and/or need to do, you are on (or your meds are on).  If you cannot, your meds are off, or you are in 'off time'. Second, there are many medications used to treat the symptoms of PD.  I say 'treat the symptoms' because they do just that.  The symptoms are caused by a lack of the neurotransmitter dopamine, and while much research is ongoing to find a way to slow the progression of the disease, the historically-common medications mostly work to preserve and protect the dopamine that is in the patient's system, and to add artifical dopamine to replace the dopamine that the brain should...
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DBS part 1

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DBS stands for deep brain stimulation. It is a well-established surgical treatment option for Parkinson's Disease.  For more details, see https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/21088-deep-brain-stimulation My DBS journey began nearly a year ago, in the spring of 2024.  Prior to that I had heard about it, talked about it, and learned about it for a few years, but that is when I began to have serious discussions about it with my neurologist.  There are several steps to complete in order to determine if you are a good candidate for DBS.  Some of them can be completed just by looking at medical records--for example, determining how long it has been since diagnosis. Others require action, and we began to plan those action items in May 2024.  Among other things, I had to be tested for cognitive decline and get an MRI of my brain.  The final check was a series of standard PD tests--walk, stomp your feet, stand up from a chair, etc--without and then ...
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