THIS IS A GUEST ARTICLE WRITTEN BY A COLLEAGUE OF BOB PRESTON:

My name is Ed Dias. I am 51 years old and have had PD since 1996. By July, 2003, my symptoms were now a real problem and I became a ‘victim/patient’. Around Christmas 2009, I changed my mind – I decided to live again. I learned how to live in the now and make the most out of each moment of time. If you give it a chance, you will find that life can still be quite satisfying.

This is a state of mind I developed long ago. I remember sitting in the waiting room at my dentist’s office. He was running late and I was just sitting, looking around the room. I noticed this huge clock on the wall. It was your basic white with black numbers and dials. The second hand was red. I’m watching it and suddenly the clearest thought enters my head. “Time is always moving whether you like it or not. Regardless of your health, state of mind, or mood, it’s moving. So figure out a way to enjoy it”.

See, we are presented with decisions every day. Daily choices are the building blocks of our future. The positions we find ourselves in are a direct result of the choices we made in the past. Some choices are made based on prior experiences, motivation for a future goal, our mood of the moment, or that ‘funny’ feeling.

For me, I choose to enjoy the ride. I have learned that along with good faith and good intentions all disappointments are opportunities in disguise. Have you ever been late for an appointment and met someone fascinating who arrived early for their appointment?

Everyone with PD has their own customized version. So what, who cares? Hearing about someone else’s agony doesn’t make any one of us any better. So why give the disease any attention? It’s like feeding oxygen to a fire. Eliminate the oxygen and the fire cannot exist. Hmm, maybe I’m on to something.

I still pretty much do whatever I want, despite my new limitations. I play roller hockey every week with longtime friends and burn out after 60 to 90 minutes. Sure, I used to be able to play longer but now on hockey nights, I get home early enough to say goodnight to my kids and have a late dinner with my wife. By the way, the so called “friends” I play with, give me zero slack. I am treated like everybody else and for 90 minutes I feel like everybody else – just want to put more pucks in their net than they put in ours.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and maybe I’ll write again soon.

Ed

Edward Dias

Investment Adviser Representative

860 963 7466