Something is not right with the left side of my body.....

It's kind of hard to pinpoint when the first big signs of Parkinsons started showing up. The diminished sense of smell, the softening voice, moving a little slower, crazy vivid dreams, these all were very easily overlooked as just part of life or maybe just getting old. Hell if I know.......however, things started to get very noticeable after I had spine surgery in January 2021.

I had been involved in a on-duty vehicle accident which I didn't know had damaged my neck. I noticed in the six months leading up to the surgery I was slowly losing control of my left hand. Typing was becoming much more difficult and in a job that requires a lot of documentation, I was growing concerned. I had been going to the doctor about it for a few visits; however, I was moving into a new house with my kids, I was in a new assignment, trying to promote, and dealing with a crap ton of other issues, so my left arm kind of got pushed to the back burner.

Eventually, I ended up with a specialist who saw the damaged disk in my neck had fully herniated and was crushing the nerve that was controlling my left arm. So, I had an Anterior Cervicale Dissection and Fusion (ACDF) which fixed the nerve problem. The left arm stopped getting worse but not better (which I am very thankful for).

I'm going to skip the work bullshit they put me through with the workman's comp lawsuit and eventually being forced to retire early. Maybe another day I'll write that story.

I went back to work around May, 2021. By then my left leg started to drag when I walked. I kept thinking my neck surgery shouldn't have affected my leg, the legs are controlled in the lumbar section of the spine. It was getting very noticeable as I was walking at home and at work. I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on with me. I have always been into fitness, staying in shape, jogging, weights. I love to ride motorcycles, wakeboarding, fishing and many other physical activities. So, to have the left side off my body not wanting to work properly was starting to really get concerning.

Then my speech started to fail.........

Mental note: Avoid getting hit by Semi-trucks, they win.

Naw, I'm sure that the damage to my neck wasn't caused by the 80,000lb Semi-Truck that ran that stop light! Stupid fucking County H.R.