Conquer PD!

Click on this link to make a donation in support of the Knight Transportation Delivery Team http://prkorg.convio.net/site/TR/Events/General?px=1374579&pg=personal&fr_id=1850 We are so very grateful for your support, encouragement, your generosity and kindness. Carl Ames

Carl Ames--Living With Parkinson's Thank you to my great friend, Diane Stephenson, whom I affectionately have dubbed "The World Ambassador to Parkinson's", as she is the most passionate neuro-scientist and advocate for people with PD. She works at the Critical Path Institute in Tucson,AZ. She is an awesome friend! Also , thank you to Deanna and Albert for creating this video. You did an awesome job! https://vimeo.com/109292010

Grand Canyon October 2014 Pointing the way! With Matt Baehr, Brian Baehr, Dan and Cindy Bryant and Joey Gregan at the Grand Canyon Brian, Dan and I have PD

The greatest thing that gives me hope and brings much satisfaction to my life is my faith in my Father in Heaven and in His Son, Jesus Christ. The knowledge I have of the plan of salvation that they have created, and that I have been taught and follow by being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is exactly what I need to help me make it through any challenging time or circumstance.  I am grateful for my membership in the church and that me and my family are together in this plan. I am grateful for my wife, Leisa, who is of great support to me, and who I don't always give enough of myself to her.  I love her and cherish our relationship. I love the family that we have created. They are awesome and want to thank them all for the joy and happiness that they bring into my life!

Wow! where do I begin? So much to share....here goes! Around October 2007, while on a visit to Utah with my wife Leisa, her brother noticed something about me that caused him to ask her if everything was okay with me. Apparently my arm would not relax and I would hold it up. Then after returning home to Arizona, someone at church asked me if I had strained my back. Apparently I was not moving as easily as I normally would. Well, it was then that I decided to  have it checked out. After going to a primary care doctor, who referred me to a neurologist, this being around Jan-Feb 2008, I received the first diagnosis of  Parkinson's Disease. That doctor encouraged me to get a second opinion, which I did, and of course then it was confirmed. My movement, my gait, body tightness and rigidity, dexterity, handwriting, all of it was being effected by what I learned was a shortage of dopamine cells being produced by my brain. In easy terms for a simple minded guy like me, I compare that...

Today, Sunday, May 25th,  I am sitting at the computer in the rental house my family is staying in for a few days of family vacation. My mother, my sister and family, and my family and grand kids were all here for our finish in San Diego. As I unwind and ponder the last month, there is so much to say, and so many new experiences that I would never have had if I did not have Parkinson's Disease. Who'd ever thought that I would had not been diagnosed with PD I would have such experiences? I am greatly blessed with a strong support system that sees me off and brings me back! Thank you to my family, work family, neighbors and friends for your ungoing support and encouragement! To the many people on our trip who hosted us with either a church, home, hotel, and even a red barn,  you are awesome! Your generosity was  overwhelming. Thank you! To our support team, Jerry Hogg, Rachel Baderman, Duane Stutzman, Nathaniel Patton, Kyle Worley,  Mona Amaro, we couldn't ask f...

 Wow! I can't believe we are starting the last week of our ride. Alot of miles have been covered and a lot of beautiful scenery we have seen. We have had wonderful hosts along the way and I am so very grateful for each stop and the people we have met. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here and to have this experience. I have never been away from my family for this much time and I miss them. I am anxious to see them this week. I am very grateful for the relationships I have developed with my road buddies of Pops Ride. Great men they are and they take great care of me. A big thank you to Jerry, Shane, and Shannon for the great friends that you are and for allowing me to share this journey with you. I look forward to a lifetime of good times!

Today was a rest day for me. It was a beautiful Sunday, Mothers Day. I am grateful for my mom and to Leisa for the great mothers that they are. I love them both so much and am anxious to see them both in San Diego. I enjoyed seeing the country side today. Alot of beautiful farms, jersey cows, and old barns. At one place when Mona and I stopped a lady approached us and we were talking. She was from Vancouver BC nd was visiting her mom. She said that she her step father had built a tree house on their property and invited us to drive back and see it. We drove down a dirt road o their place and it was beautiful. Such a nice place with trees blooming. They took me to the back yard where the tree house was. It was actually a house on supports built against a tree with stairs leading to it. It was big enough for a full size bed and finished with nice wood. It had windows with a great view. A pretty cool place. We also went through a town called Ferndale. It was a nice little town with vict...

Today we rode from Port Orford to Brookings, almost to the California border. I rode most the way except for the last 12 miles or so. It was windy and wet, but not wet enough to keep us from riding. We had a beautiful ocean view and plenty of very scenic spots.  After I stopped riding and was with Duane in the support vehicle , we stopped at a scenic point above the ocean and we saw a whale out there. It would stay primarily in one area like it must have been feeding on something but occasionally we would see it come up out of the water briefly. It was a good day. Duane and Jerry Hogg both ended their support team time. We will miss them both. Jerry has been extremely helpful and I have appreciated him so much. Thank you Jerry! Duane was very kind and eager to help. It was good to get to know him as well. Thank you Duane! Keith Barr joined us this evening and will start riding with us tomorrow for the rest of the time. It will be great to have him with us. Mona jo...