Day 76 - 83

Several weeks ago, I went to have dinner with my dad, and my aunt and uncle in the city.  I had wrote previously that I was unsure how much longer he would be able to communicate verbally.  I now know, he speech is, for the most part, garbles.  This was expected and still hard to see, but what was far worse was having him be unable to eat with out choking.  Many times during dinner he would put food into his mouth, only to start to choke and cough uncontrollably.  I had to cut his food into very small pieces, a moment I had never imagined.

As hard as it is to see my father like this, I am very thankful I am able to see him, because there will be a day when that will not be possible.

I never planned on this blog to get philosophical or to try and tell people what they should or should not do.  But if there is a member of your family that is not well, or even that you have not seen for a long time, you should try to make time to see them and at the very least hash out any differences or issues face to face, because you do not know when that person will not longer be around and you will have lost the opportunity to resolve issues or at least say good bye.

In happier news. my mom is visiting from Ireland through Thanksgiving, she appears in good health, and it is just nice to see her again.

For most of November I have been doing squat holds, the reason for this is, I feel there is less stress put on my back stopping at the bottom than there is rebounding out of the bottom.

I also was able to get my first muscle up this week, after 2 years of trying, one of the great coaches at Crossfit Revenge was able to show me what I was doing wrong and quickly show me how to correct it.

Day 60 - 75 I'm Back

For a number of reasons, none of them really any good I have not posted in a while. (Shame on me)

But have still been squatting, and reading about the illnesses that not only impact my parents but a growing number of people through out the country and world.

Something I recently read struck a nerve and is one of the reasons I am doing this -

Alzheimer’s research receives $450 million annually, compared to $3 billion for HIV/AIDS, $4 billion for heart disease and $6 billion for cancer

Please note I am not understating the awfulness of those other diseases, but with 36 million sufferers worldwide (and growing) there needs to be more research and funding into treatments and potential solutions to this and other brain illnesses.

For the full article this came from please click here - http://www.forbes.com/sites/northwesternmutual/2013/11/19/fighting-alzheimers-on-all-fronts/