Moving to Portland….via the Long Way Home

     It’s now only 2 months before the World Parkinson Congress and I hope many of you will be traveling to Portland in September. I’ve gotten a head start on the travel to Portland by actually moving there - 23 years ago after graduating from medical school. Since I took a rather unique route to Portland that took me over a month to complete, I thought I share some of my travel images here.

      My trek started with a 1000 mile road trip to move a dog and two fish from Las Vegas to Portland and allow me to meet the first shipment of our household goods. I was fortunate to have companions, because my path took me along a lot of open roads including “The Loneliest Road in America” – US Route 50 in Nevada.

     Two days after reaching Portland, I flew back to Las Vegas to begin a journey to attend six US National Team soccer games within a month’s time. We flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico for the first game and the start of a week long journey to visit  three of the major cities in Caribbean. The other two cities were Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Port au Prince – with this stop in Haiti added one more countries to the list of those I’ve visited.

  

Puerto Rico                                                                        Dominican Republic

  

Haiti                                                                                 Haiti

     After a brief two day stop in Portland to begin unpacking, I traveled to work a few days in Seattle and Denver.  Then we were off on a cross country journey to watch Copa America games in four US cities:  Santa Clara, Chicago, Philadelphia and Argentina  

    

     Our month of travels culminated is a very special event when Lila and I spent 4 days in Bermuda to renew our wedding vows and celebrate of our 25^th wedding anniversary.

  

    Our return to the States was then followed by another 1000 mile drive from Las Vegas to Portland to move our second vehicle and finally unload the second shipment of house goods in Portland.  Now that we are somewhat settled back in Portland I am beginning to plan for some activities during WPC 2016. Here are a few highlights:

-    I will be emcee for the Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon Sole Support walk on the weekend leading up to WPC.  I hope to see many of you there, so here is the link to further information:  Sole Support for Parkinson's

-   I’m looking forwarding to coordinating get-togethers for my fellow WPC bloggers and those that have been involved with my travel challenges in the past...more to come later.

-  Finally, I was fortunate to have my video for WPC selected to the top 12 and therefore, eligible for “People’s Choice Award” voting. You can view all of the top 12 videos and place your vote at the following link:  WPC Video Competition voting

- Mark

Views from Portland and the Parkinson's Resources of Oregon Gala

     For all those planning to travel to the World Parkinson's Congress in September and those already living in the Northwest...here are some images that you might enjoy.

  

     Parkinson's Resources of Oregon Gala 2016

Pre-party with my wife and Parky

An opportunity to share my thoughts on Parkinson's awareness

 

There's nothing like the support of family and friends

  

Things Not to Miss While in Portland During WPC 2016

Take in views from the waterfront

  

Get a bite to eat from the food carts

  

Stop to smell the Rose City roses...and other flowers

  

Attend a Timbers game

  

Forging Resilience....Near My Hometown

     With the World Parkinson Congress just months away, I'm constantly learning about wonderful projects being put in place for the conference. It's exciting to hear of activities in many of the countries I've visited during my travels. This week I had an even more amazing experience...discovering an endeavor near my hometown in Montana.

      Just minutes before I boarded a flight to Butte, Montana, I read an email requesting WPC bloggers help get the word out about "Forging Resilience", a program that is gathering stories and quotes from those with Parkinson's around the world. The quotes are being placed on the leaves of their "tree" that will be on display at WPC 2016 in Portland. I was then surprised to read that the artists, Carolyn and Hadley, were in Missoula, Montana -- just a few miles from my childhood home in the tiny town of Frenchtown.

    After a few emails and phone calls, I was fortunate to get a behind-the-scenes look at the production of this piece of art. Here's a quick photo journey through that process...

     Quotes from PwP are gathered through an online submission form (Click here to add your quote to the tree - Submit your Story). The printed quotes are then torn into leaf shapes using pre-cut templates. I found out this is not as easy as it looks and gained much respect for the 19 volunteers who have donated countless hours to the project to date.

444 Parkinson’s Foundation, Parky and WPC Travel Grants Program

     As I travel the world, I’m often asked, “How do you pay for travel?” and “Do you have a sponsor?” I actually pay my own travel expenses, which is only possible because I make travel a priority and have become a savvy budget traveler. For example, I keep a spreadsheet with my frequent flyer account balances, research programs’ credit card and mileage partners and have acquired a detailed understanding of airline mile rewards. This often means I select routes between less visited cities in regions with low mileage requirements to allow stop-overs in new destinations. In 2013, I was fortunate to find flights into Ottawa and out of Quebec, so I could visit these beautiful cities and also save on airfare to the WPC in Montreal.

  

     Despite my efforts, there is still a significant cost associated with travel - as those planning to attend WPC 2016 in Portland are well aware. Fortunately, there is some assistance available. When I planned Run-the-World 4 Parkinson’s I decided to try to raise funds for Parkinson’s-related projects and created the non-profit, 444 Parkinson’s Foundation. In January 2016, we were able to contribute $5000 to the WPC Travel Grants Program. Many other organizations and individuals have also submitted donations. In addition, you can purchase a Parky stuffed animal at the WPC Online Store and the proceeds will go to the WPC Travel Grants Program.

Expanding the WORLD of the World Parkinson Congress

    One of my lasting memories from the World Parkinson Congress in Montreal in 2013 was viewing the videos in the WPC video competition. I particularly remember the video "Power Forward" that documented a group, including former-NBA player Brian Grant, hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro. The video had both beautiful images and an inspiring message.

     When the video competition was announced for WPC 2016, I considered sharing my travel and Parkinson's support experiences from around the world. However, having only a self-taught, rudimentary knowledge of Windows Movie Marker and very little (if any) artistic ability - I didn't think I'd be able to put together anything worthy of presenting. Later I heard there would be an amateur category, so I played around with my many files of photos and video clips and came up this...

P.S.  When I loaded my video to YouTube I got the notification from YouTube seen in this screenshot...how did they know that my video might be "shaky" - ha, ha.

Parky:  World Traveler

     Those who have not read the epic novel, "The Story Behind Parky the Raccoon" may have questions about the World Parkinson Congress mascot – so here are some interesting facts about this cuddly masked mammal.

 

     Who?  

     

Parky in Pyongyang

     In choosing to attempt to travel to every nation in the world, I realize that visiting some countries will involve some difficult decisions due to safety issues, isolated locations, transportation/lodging expenses or, as in the case of North Korea, political controversy.
     
      Although there are legitimate concerns regarding economic support for the DPRK government being provided by the few who travel there as tourists, there's also a difficult to quantify impact on those living within North Korea that can be contributed to these highly censored interactions.

 

     There is no way to put into written words the experience of observing North Korea society, architecture and geography - even from a guarded distance. Here I've included a few photos of Parky and a short, poor quality, hastily edited video to give you a small glimpse of the images that I saw, but only in person could I ever begin to try to explain this experience.

Click here to see video of my visit to North Korea

Parky in the DPRK

       

           Parky in Pyongyang International Airport                   Parky in the Pyongyang Metro

     

       

           Parky in Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery                                      Parky in the DMZ

  

   

             Parky in Pyongyang by day                                          Parky in Pyongyang by night

                 

Marshaling on through the Marshall Islands

     My arrival in the Marshall Islands was much different than my arrival in Pohnpei, where I had prearranged an airport transfer. Flights to Kwajalein Atoll land on Kwajalein Island, which is controlled by the US military. Security on Kwajalein is tight with measures including prohibiting photos during landing and not allowing onward passengers from deplaning. Immigration and military inspections are carried out immediately on arrival and those without orders to stay on Kwajalein then board a shuttle bus to another building to wait for the ferry to the island of Ebeye. This process is confusing for new arrivals, of which I appeared to be the only one.  It is even more confusing for officials and other persons faced with someone who appears to be obviously going to the military base, but is actually trying to get to Ebeye. The officials repeated asked for my orders. The shuttle bus drive asked "What's your address?", assuming I needed a ride to my house on the military base. A friendly lady, who had been living on Kwajalein for 4 months asked, “Why are you going to Ebeye?” and then tried to answer her own question with the only reasonable answer she could imagine..."are you a missionary?” Eventually I made it to the pier, waited over an hour for the ferry and arrived on Ebeye after dark - happy to find that it was indeed a simple walk from the dock to the only hotel on the island, as I had been reassured by everyone I had asked.

Taking the Plunge in Pohnpei

     I'm always amused by the little ridiculous moments associated with travel. After saying good-bye to my family in Honolulu, I dropped off the rental car and went to check in. I was particularly proud of myself for finding a one-way frequent flyer ticket from Hawaii to Kwajalein, Marshall Islands with a 13-hour stopover that allowed me to visit Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. However, it wasn’t until I printed my boarding pass that I fully realized the extent of travel planned for the next couple days. When I clicked on "print", the boarding passes just kept coming…FIVE in total!
     My first transit was in Guam and there I had one mission…find cookies. I was determined to get Chamorro chip cookies for the people from Guam that I work with and despite a short late-night stop, I was successful. The next stop was Chuuk (a little more exotic, or maybe rustic). It was a short 40-minute stop for the "island-hopper" and only two of us chose to deplane and join 3 others in the departure hall. When time to reboard, the airport agent proceeded with a very formal announcement, pausing and waiting after calling out each boarding zone - even though none of the five of us were disabled, traveling with children, military in uniform, business class or in zones 1, 2 or 3.

Parky's Pacific Postcards

     Once again I've had the honor of sharing my travel experiences with, and having the support of, my fellow Parkies...including "Parky".

  

  

Power Through Project – The Effects of Exercise on the (your) Brain

Parky and I after 12+ hr flight to Beijing

  For November, PTP diary writers are exploring the effects of exercise on the brain – a topic that has stimulated much research in recent years. It is also a question that I’m frequently asked during my Parkinson’s awareness activities and my standard response is based on my experiences as both, a patient and a physician.

     Fatigue is among the most prominent symptoms of Parkinson’s that I have experienced, although it is often difficult to determine what is truly due to Parkinson’s, a medication side effect or part of everyday life activities (such as the 12+ hour flight to Beijing I am on while writing this post). Regardless, I have found exercise to be a very effective way to combat fatigue.