it was a journey that was new for some

IT WAS A JOURNEY THAT WAS NEW FOR SOME

this is why i walked this weekend in the
williamson county walk to end alzheimers
for the alzheimers associaton
for those who dont know thats my brother mother and dad
all stricken with the disease

i noticed at the walk some people wrote my name on their tshirts
i cant do that yet since i guess since i cant 100% say for sure that
i have it
although based on my testing it all points to that
and
i personally think i have it as i feel a slow decline thats recognizable
right now only to me but im sure it will start to show on testing
soon









thats mr b my walking buddy at the beginning or is it the end
is the same i think like the disease itself

today was the first time many walked on this walk
and
like with the disease its the first day that many will start
the walk with themselves or their families or friends as they
start that journey with the disease

im sorry to say once that journey starts it has only one ending
and the journey is usually a sad one until it ends

you cant turn back like pople were able to at this walk when
they got too tired or hot or sweaty or muddy
life
im afraid with this disease
doesnt quite work that way

its only one direction with a lot of hills and valleys
but its is only a downward one

thats my buddy michael who two years ago gave me a pillow he made
to raise money and made a poster that he and his brother pulled in a wagon
the 2+ miles around the walk that said
im walking for dr nash
then gave me a letter ive posted and saved
it makes me cry every time i try to read it

he always raises money this year it was by collecting cans
and selling them
and he is one of the top fundraisers on his team

this is another one of my buddies
a die hard aggie fan
whom i am always trying to convert to a horn fan

what i like about mr b michael and aggie kid
especially joshua the middle schooler who sang the national anthem
and the high school cheerleaders and the school band that was there
was that there was this youth presence there this weekend

that is important for us to find a cure
as it will be them that will benefit the most from all of the treatments
that are on the way

some of the treatment research is financed by some of the
money raised through these walks

its the young sons and daughters and grand kids and great kids
and nephews and nieces that get lost sometimes
in all this alzheimers business
they are affected by this like we are
lets dont forget them

these are volunteers from the habitat for humanity that i work with
frequently
they spend a lot of hours every year helping build these houses
for deserving families
i personally want to thank them for taking the time to walk with  us
today

we all need to be volunteering somewhere and giving back to those
in need

this is most of our team the organicgreendoctor tean that walked
last saturday

thanks to each one who took the time to walk with us today

most of not all have been affected some way by
alzheimers disease

a parent
a grand parent
an in law
a sibling
a spouse
a friend
a relative

then finally
this is my wife she
the one with the hat on
with the alzheimers walk miniature donkey
thanks to her for her support

i  wish her a happy anniversary next saturday
(we will be putting in the square foot garden that we auctioned
off for the walk)
and
i hope we have a lot of good times together in the near future until
that journey starts to slow down
love you

the organicgreen doctor

this is why

THIS IS WHY
this is why i do it
those walks to end alzheimers

every 69 seconds someone is diagnosed with alzheimers disease
1 out of every 3 persons over 65 will develop alzheimers disease
if they live long enough
if we find a cure for alzheimers disease it will save the us economy
trillions of dollars
there are 6 million people in the us with alzheimers disease

i know many of you have been personally affected by this terrible
fatal disease
my mother died in the final stages of alzheimers disease
my dad died of a heart attack but looking back he probably had
moderate alzheimers disease when he died
my younger brother just ended his battle with alzheimers disease
last month
i have early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type that probably
is due to alzheimers disease

because of this strong family history of alzheimers disease and
because of my personal history of possibly having this disease
i have become a strong supporter of the alzheimers association

the alzheimers association is the third largest supporter of research
on alzheimers disease in the world behind china and the
national institute of health

the alzheimers assoication provides a lot of educational support for
caregivers patients families and health care providers

the alzheimers association is responsible for a lot of the legislative
reforms that have been passed on alzheimers disease

the alzheimers association gets almost all of its funding from donations
and
most of these donations come from the walks to end alzheimers

this is why
i walk to raise funds so that this work can continue
and we can find a treatment for this fatal terrible disease
this alzheimers disease

tomorrow i will be walking with friends former coworkers and family
at san gabriel park in georgetown texas
registration starts at 800am the walk will commence at 900am

so donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor and come walk
with us

remember for these walks you dont have to donate but its appreciated
you can just show up that morning to walk

remember this walk happens rain or shine
the backup site is the nearby recreational gym thats along the
san gabriel path we will be walking

see you there

for those who donated and or joined my younger brothers team #joe nash
it has now officially been moved to the little rock arkansas walk
come join us and walk that day november 16 in little rock as we walk
in his memory

you can also donate or join your local walks in your area
go to www.alz.org/walk to find a time and locale

the organicgreen doctor

smart college, willies loss

SMART COLLEGE
if youve read this blog much you know that i am a
ut horn fan
which has been very disappointing thing to be recently
for ut mens sports like football basketball and baseball
not quite as much for track or swimming
but maybe real good for womens volleyball
were no 1 on that one in austin
but
we all know that women athletes seem to be a smarter bunch
than those guy teams

now i found out this morning while reading on yahoo why
the ut horns arent as good as they were

i read every morning online two papers and several news sites
looking for articles that interest me

this morning there it was
academic vs athletic ie football rankings
alabama number one in the poll but academic rating it was
well not quite as good
well it was real bad
let see notre dame it was highly ranked in academic and in sports
but not in the top ten of either
but was close at 15
let see clemson
texas am
georgia
oklahoma
texas tech
ohio state
ucla
nope not there

it seems as the sports ranking on the top 25 football ranking
gets higher it seems the academic rating gets lower

the only team that was in the top 10 academically and football rankings
was stanford at 5 for both

so that my friends is the explanation for the ut horns demise
its not mack browns fault
or many diaz
or all those top recruits
or all those injuries to key players

it appears according to statistics
that its because of the university of texas higher academic rating
its something that all those millions of dollars or is it billions
cant overcome
except of course for that national volleyball championship last year

stanford is an outlier it seems

so therefore
the ranking in the football poll is inversely related to the schools
academic ranking it seems

so that explains rices football program also

WILLIES ARMADILLO

ol dillo
hes the mascot for willies band
last week someone took the stiffed armadillo off its stand as the band
was breaking down the stage
it was all caught on tape as
you see this long haired lady cant tell if she is some strange girl with
red hair or not
grab the armadillo and just walk off with it

willies fans are upset and a national search is underway for ol dillo
willie apparently is not a vengeful guy but if youve ever read
the red headed stranger lyrics you know that bad things can happen
to people who steal horses
and
in texas apparently they hang armadillo thieves also

the organicgreen doctor

activites, ted ted ted

ACTIVITIES

today at 1000 am i will be doing a presentation
on my story with possible alzheimers disease
at the sun city cowan amenity center andice room
1433 cool spring way
georgetown texas
rsvp deanna at tiffinhouselcd@gmail.com
there are a few seats left 

this saturday
the walk to end alzheimers for williamson county will start at 
900 am at the san gabriel park in georgetown texas
sign  up starts at 800 am
click here to donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
remember
you can walk for no charge and sign up the day of the walk

TED TED TED

bet hes tired up there talking and talking and talking
is that like that seinfeld show
about nothing

what the heck do you talk about that long
especially on the senate floor
where we are suppose to get things done for our country
and maybe try not to shut the country down

maybe he should get a bible and start reading it out loud
real slow
then
go to the koran and read it
heck
go ahead and read one of the encyclopedias
between the three books well all learn something good
especially congress
thats something that rarely comes out congress
good things

hes going to lose
this senator cruz

ill admire him for his tenacity
but not his stupidity

the obamacare comes online october 1st
since i get up early in morning i plan to hit the websites for
texas and california

here in texas it seems despite ricks hard work to shut it down
the rates for texas will be some of the cheapest rates of all the states
and i read this morning there will be 47 choices of plans

texas has one of the largest uninsured numbers in the us
and since rick isnt taking any federal money for medicaid
many will be left out in this deal
those who need it the most

i will be checking the rates and insurance for a 20 year old part time
working college student who is uninsured and is self supporting
his rates are looking real good
probably will be about $50

i will be checking the california exchanges for my 30ish single son who
is self employed
he has his own policy right now but it is grandfathered in and doesnt have
some of the protections the new plans have

i will be checking the texas exhanges for the organicgreen doctor
its borderline whether ill qualify for the exchanges since im covered
under my wifes plan at some great expense-$1000+ a month
i should be able to get a cheaper policy with much better coverage

trader joes decided to quit buying insurance for its part time employees
it will give them $500 a month to buy their own on the exchanges
it appears that they are the better for it since they will be able to
buy a better policy at a better price

i thought about my family and was it affected by the new obamacare
affordable care act
older son no
younger son yes will get better priced policy with better coverage
wife no
brothers sisters brotherinlaws sisterinlaws although i dont know their
specifics they are either on medicare or on retirement health insurance
or on their employees insurance
so no for them too

thats the case is that most americans are not going to be affected by
the new law when it comes online on janurary 1

one thing that is going to happen
insurance will probably move from the employer based system to
one where we buy our own on the exchanges
note there are also private exchanges becoming available to compete
with the new government exchanges

many retirees premedicare will buy insurance on either the government
or the private exchanges

medicine will change a lot
the rate of increase in the cost of care is dropping and will continue
to drop

the day when doctors and hospitals make a lot of money may be
over unless they figure out how to exist in this new medical environment

the fee for service system will  probably mostly go away
the system will pay on results

medicare will never be changed significantly as long as the older folks
are in the majority
thats not going to change anytime soon

prediction we will all one day be on the exchanges except for medicare
medicaid military va and oh yeah congress

ted ted wake up are you still there
ted ted
harry will be here in awhile and take over then
you can sleep
man you look real tired

the organicgreen doctor

its about time

ITS ABOUT TIME

today i am very excited
as i get to be the first patient at the clinic where i worked
as they introduce their new computer system

when i made my appointment for my six month followup
i said i want to be the first patient on the new system
in your office

implementing a new system is no small endeavor
especially in a group of 300+ doctors and 20+ clinics
it has taken months of preparation and a lot i mean a lot
of expense to get this system up and going

in the long run we will all benefit patients doctors and employees

the future of medicine brought on by the affordable care act
obamacare or whatever you call it and even without this
market forces and the future of medicine makes it very
difficult to operate without a full computer system

i almost got to use a new system before i left but it got delayed
for three years
whoa a lot happened to me in those three years

before i left i had figured out a way to almost make myself
totally computerized
i hardly ever wrote in the chart but instead used  microsoft word
to do all my clinic notes
we already had a pharmacy program for prescriptions
and could easily access xrays and lab work
so i was 70% lets say
but
thats not like a full system
the old way is inefficient

on a much smaller scale its like the difference between using your checkbook
to pay bills and using a electronic system to receive and pay
your bills

when i go for my neurology appointments at ut southwestern
they have the same full system that this clinic will put in
and every time i go up i quiz everybody along the line on how theirs work

i know they wonder why does that guy ask so many questions

i like the system since so much of my interactions with them can be
done online like prescription refills questions for the doctor lab and
xray results appointments etc
you know you dont get put on hold and have to listen to that menu
and have to wait for someone to pick up the line when the call is
forwarded
no waiting for a phone call
it just pops up on your computer
so
welcome to the 21st century today
ill be there on time

the organicgreen doctor

rain

RAIN

the last time we had significant rain here at the

country n was last may when we got close to 4 inches

we had drizzles off and on since of 1/4 inch-1/2 inch

you know the type that comes through in the hot summer

wets things down

and just makes it miserably humid with all the hot temperatures

we have in the summer

i was excited earlier in the week when we got some rain

it again was slightly over 1/4 inch

everything was wet so i went out and removed the wet dirt

which was about 1/4 inch thick

and below that it was dry 

like dust you could just blow away

this week here at the country n we got 4 inches of rain on 

thursday and friday

i was excited hoping it would drench everything well

heck when i ran my meals on wheel route on friday 

i got drenched myself 

it seemed just as i got ready to leave my car to deliver the meal

here a downpour would come

if i was a garden bed i would have be soaked good to the

bottom of the bed

so on saturday i went out to this keyhole garden i made from 

an old water trough and where i plan to plant my fall garden

this week i even watered it well with my dripper system knowing

it was going to rain

the soil in it is 3 feet deep and has a lot of organic material all the 

way to the bottom of the bed

i took the material from my large chicken runs and my large

compost bed where the chickens have been scartching around and 

pooping on everything and shredding all those oak leaves and 

just generally stirring it all up

and put it deep into this soil 

so on friday after the first 2 inches of rain i did the finger test

you take the index finger stick it all the way into the soil to check 

the moisture level

it was 1st knuckle positive after 2 inches of rain

last week it was 1 finger nail thickness positive after that smiggen rain

now after a total of 4 inches in two days its is 2nd knuckle positive

but

ive still got 2 ft 9 inches more of moisture that needs to go into that bed

thats how dry its been around here

the moisture just seemed to be sucked up everywhere and seemed

to just disappear

i was able to refill all my irrigation tanks this time that i use for my

garden and landscape

total 6000 gallons 

now for my home water system we are almost full

we need about 3000 gallons to be completely full

when that happens its sad

to see those tanks just run over and theres nothing to do to 

but just let it all run onto the ground

i guess thats a good position to be in 

hopefully also it will add more water to the lakes

the main lake with the sometimes island increased 1 foot in 1 day

now we need 40 more feet to be full

thats been awhile 

thats when that lady got sucked over the dam with her wooden boat 

and showed up downstream all beat up and naked and all scratched 

up

wonder how shes doing

that wont ever probably happen again the way the droughts going

i guess thats a good thing

FOOTBALL

good job cowboys horns aggies

and for awhile the hogs

the organicgreen doctor

this is exciting news

THIS IS EXCITING NEWS

its not often that you get to write about exciting or good news
about alzheimers disease
its such a sad disease
you get it and really cant do that much really to stop it
maybe slow it down some

as many of you know my mother had alzheimers disease
my father died of a heart attack but probably had moderate alzheimers disease
my younger brother died a month ago with this terrible disease
and
i probably have early early alzheimers

the future will prove whether i have it or not
i personally am proceeding along the lines that i have it
(i take my aricept (donepezil)
so i can be prepared as much as you can for when that day comes
and
do whatever i can to slow it down
including
looking for any research where there is treatment that might work
early on like in cases like mine

i carry the apoe4 gene the double version
which increases my chances 15 times that i will get or have
alzheimers disease

yesterday an announcement was made  and is well described in this
article from the associated press which if you have a loved one with
early symptoms like i have you  should read it
and
this one with interviews with dr hilfilker and dr halperin about all this
one a physician the other a dentist
both whom i occasionally interact with online some
dr hilfilkers blog watching the lights go out is one i follow
and is on the right side of this blog in my favorite blog list

yesterday i gave a presentation about my story with possibly having
alzheimers disease to a small group
and much of what i talked about was in these articles

the federal government instead of a war on syria
has declared a war on alzheimers disease

the federal government was suppose to be funneling 100 million dollars
to fund alzheimers research
but
thanks to budget cuts that was not funded
however
the director of the national institutes of health has scrounged up
several millions of dollars to fund alzheimers research

one study will look at 650 people who carry the double gene apoe4
which means me
they will be given one of the new drugs yet to be determined to those
of us with the apoe4 gene hoping that it will slow down or prevent
the disease

i think this is the study that ive been waiting for
just please dont put me in the placebo group
most of the previous upcoming treatment studies i dont qualify for
since im so early
eg dr hilfiker is in an alzheimers treatment study using one of the new
alzheimers vaccines but  he is a little more advanced than i am

so folks this is my chance to maybe do something for myself that
might slow down the disease in myself

i plan on being the first to sign up

thank you
to the federal government for supporting this war

ACTIVITIES
next wednesday september september 25th i will be doing a presentation
on my story with possible alzheimers disease
at the sun city cowan amenity center andice room
1433 cool spring way
georgetown texas
rsvp deanna at tiffinhouselcd@gmail.com
there are a few seats left

next saturday september 28th
the williamson county walk to end alzheimers
at san gabriel park
georgetown texas
sign in at 800am walk at 900am
sign up on line or the day of the walk
the walk is free but a donation is appreciated
click here to donate or join my team organicgreendoctor

my younger brothers team #joe nash was scheduled to walk in
the el dorado ark walk to end alzheimers on november 2nd
that walk has been canceled and his team information
will be posted later at a different walk location
ill keep you informed

please take a moment
support us this year
the alzheimers association is the 3rd largest supporter of research
in the world behind china and the national institutes of health
and almost all their funding comes from donations
and
most comes from these walks to end alzheimers

thank you
:))
the organicgreen doctor

its time

ITS TIME

have you ever driven on i20 between dallas and shreveport
you see all those cars driving down the interstate at a fast pace
heading east with those texas license plates
those plates should read texa$
as
thats $$$$$ leaving the state of texas to shreveport
to those casinos there
drive into the parking area and probably most of the
cars have texas plates
and yes there will be a lot of arkansas plates also
thats arkan$a$ plates
theyre losing money also

two things people are going to do is
gamble
drink
if either is done in moderation its probably ok
gambling is and should be entertainment
remember you will not win in the end
how do you think they build those big places in vegas
on your money
your losses

i like to gamble play cards play black jack do the slots
but i have a different view
its like going to an arcade
its just for entertainment
with no expectations of really winning a big pot of money
and i will occasionally buy a lottery ticket when the pot
gets real real big
heck for $2 why not

but i know like alcohol it can be an addiction
like a lot of things in our lives
it can certainly destroy families and devastate them financially

so i havent really gambled in 10 years
but
again people are going to do it
some government entity usually a state will benefit significantly
from this vice
like they do from alcohol and tobacco and probably should
for the weed

in texas the revenue from the gambling is zero
thats zero
if it was here we would get $1.5 billion dollars a year in revenue
most of which now goes to louisiana oklahoma and vegas

seems an easy decision to me

when we use to travel we use to play the city game to occupy
our kids time
this was pre electronic days where now you just flip on a dvd
and keep em busy

in this game you you name a city like dallas then the next person
had to name a city that started with an s say san antonio then
the next person had to say a city that started with an o etc

so you learned to prep for these by finding cities with an o
and especially cities with an e

so we well thats me
i scowered the maps for e cities
thats when i found eagle pass

eagle pass when i saw that in a news report i instantly knew
exactly where it was

its a small town in south texas thats has the kickapoo indian tribe
nearby
and since there is a quirk in our legal system
the tribe can have a casino on the reservation
and
can give a middle finger to rick and the state of texas
its the federal law

the city of eagle pass benefits immensely
as do those who live on the reservation

its a small version of what could happen in the state

remember its already happening now and the states not
getting any of the revenue
with
illegal gambling and those bus loads of grey heads headed to the
louisiana borders

yes it time

the organicgreen doctor