Anne Cutter Mikkelsen

The Dodge, Release Party

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, March 1st, 2012 9:34 am

The Dodge: Guts, Glory, and Living at Full-Throttle
By Anne Cutter Mikkelsen and Eduard Alden Mikkelsen
Published by Willow Island Press

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This Just In!

Bellingham, WA (PRWEB) April 19, 2012
Bellingham Couple Shares How to Live at Full Throttle with Parkinson’s at Book Signing and Personal Appearance with Beloved Classic 1941 Dodge at Village Books, April 22
Mike and Anne Mikkelsen’s new book, “The Dodge: Guts, Glory and Living at Full Throttle,” recounts the lifeline forged for Mike through decades restoring the Classic Dodge D-19 Luxury Liner Convertible he discovered at age 17, later intertwined with their life story as a couple as they grapple with Parkinson’s disease since Mike’s diagnosis in 1993.
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Event: The Dodge, Book Signing at Village Books
April 22nd, 2012 at Village Books in Bellingham.

Bellingham, WA (PRWEB) February 29, 2012

Restoring a Classic Dodge Over Six Decades Forges a Lifeline for an Artist With Parkinson’s Disease.
Sculptor, potter, and lifelong classic auto collector and restoration enthusiast, Eduard Alden “Mike” Mikkelsen, has collaborated on a new memoir with his wife, Anne Cutter Mikkelsen. “The Dodge: Guts, Glory, and Living at Full-Throttle” recounts the intertwined life stories of Mike – who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1993, Anne, and the beloved 1941 Dodge convertible he rescued 60 years ago at age 17. Their journey with Parkinson’s and adventures together reveal valuable lessons about coping with physical and emotional losses experienced in PD and other neurodegenerative disease.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012.

New E-Blast Press Release

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, January 2nd, 2012 10:58 am

Parkinson’s Disease: Take Control with Lifestyle Changes in Brain Healthy Nutrition, Exercise, and Healthy Coping Strategies to Boost Physical and Emotional Resilience…
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April Is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month: Take Control With Brain-Healthy Nutrition, Exercise, and Healthy Coping Strategies to Manage Symptoms

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, March 30th, 2012 6:54 pm

BELLINGHAM, Wash., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — There is evidence-based support that re-focused nutrition, exercise, and healthy emotional coping strategies may play roles in maintaining optimal health while living with Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders like multiple sclerosis. “Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to Put You in the Driver’s Seat” (ISBN: 978-0-9823219-3-5) is an unusual how-to book for anyone on the journey of living with Parkinson’s, from the newly diagnosed, to those like author Anne Cutter Mikkelsen’s husband, Mike, who has enjoyed an exceptional quality of life living with PD for decades…

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Take Charge on Library Journal’s Best Seller List

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, March 20th, 2012 11:31 am

Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to Put YOU in the Driver’s Seat  is on the Library Journal’s Best Sellers list
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The Dodge, Book Signing at Village Books

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, March 16th, 2012 10:03 am

Join us at Village Books in Bellingham on Sunday, April 22 @ 2 p.m.
We will be reading from and signing the new book The Dodge: Guts, Glory, and Living at Full-Throttle.

The Dodge will be there IN PERSON.

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, March 15th, 2012 11:53 am

Parkinson’s Awareness Month | Parkinson’s Action Network.

During this month of PD dedication, let’s stretch and be AWARE of Parkinson’s Disease! What if we all did something intentional to learn more about “the face of Parkinson’s?” Every 9  minutes someone is diagnosed with PD, yet the science of Parkinson’s slowly emerges. With over 1,000,000 cases in the United States and 50 to 60 thousand new diagnoses a year, we are approaching the tipping point! While we wait for the science, we’re adapting–doing everything possible to reduce the barriers and make each day a positive, productive and celebratory experience. Here we go! Stretch!

“Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease” Named to Top 20 In Demand List by Libraries and Bookstores

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, February 29th, 2012 9:46 am

“Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease: Dynamic Lifestyle Changes to Put You in the Driver’s Seat” has been named to the Top 20 List of Books in Demand Nationwide by Libraries and Bookstores from Quality Books in the March 1, 2012 Library Journal. A “how-to” for boosting physical and emotional resilience with brain healthy nutrition, exercise, and enlightened caregiving, “Take Charge” contains more than 80 original recipes with the widest variety of anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich ingredients, and culinary herbs and spices known to favorably impact the brain. Author and French trained chef, Anne Cutter Mikkelsen, shares the stirring personal story of how she and her husband, diagnosed in 1993, have discovered how to live well with PD.

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Eat like an Italian

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, February 14th, 2012 12:58 pm

In the fall of 1957, a Minnesota doctor named Ancel Keys traveled from Naples to the southern Italian town of Nicotera. The road was long and dusty, winding for hours into the mountainous toe of the Italian boot. But the trip was worth it. Keys, a physiologist who had spent World War II developing combat food rations, was searching for the answer to one of the great questions of healthy living: Why did heart attacks plague some groups of people (say, Minnesota businessmen) while leaving others (southern Italian farmers, for instance) nearly untouched?

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Source : Time Magazine

Neuroscientists make headway turning thoughts into speech

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, February 2nd, 2012 4:20 pm

Yesterday, February 1, 2012, I read an interesting report in USA Today by Dan Vergano. Titled, “Scientists tinker with mind-reading,” the article describes the findings of a study by Neuroscientists who have decoded brain noise into words. “The report raises the possibility that brain sensors could help people speak through a computer simply by thinking what they want to say.” As I read it, I wondered if Mike had been in contact with these scientists two years ago, when he expressed his dream wish.

On page 86 of Take Charge of Parkinson’s Disease, Mike described what a typical morning is like for him.

“Getting out of bed each morning, I begin by surveying my surroundings. Now, I’m getting closer to falling every time I get up–even from my chair. Am I on solid footing today? Is my cane beside me? If not, can I move without my cane? Next, where is it? I calculate how I can get my body to another place by locating furniture to hang on to, careful to anticipate the distance I can safely traverse. There’s always that walker lurking down in the basement. I do not want to fall, I know the consequences.

This is my valley. But every barrier is a springboard for a new direction of thought. I’d like to see an electronic device, laptop, with the capability of reading my brain waves, sensing my thoughts. By the touch of my finger this device could communicate my feelings in words like a normal conversation.”

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Carepartner Tips

Published by Anne Mikkelsen, December 28th, 2011 1:31 pm

Caregivers! Celebrate.

I suggest that we as carepartners celebrate. For years, I have strived for a routine, a daily schedule that would effectively blend the demands of Parkinson’s with Mike’s and my talents and abilities. After lots of tripping and falling, we have discovered what actually works and frees our minds so we can enjoy our accomplishments.

Tip # 1: Lose all unrealistic expectations that hinder success.

Not long ago, Mike could cut down a tree, chop and stack the firewood, haul the logs to the house and build a fire, practically with his hands tied behind his back. Today he can no longer cut, chop, stack or haul the wood. But he is sublimely skilled at locating a source of good dry wood to be delivered and stacked. He rolls the paper just-so. And then he strategically places the kindling under the logs and triumphantly ignites the fire with just one match.

Next tip: Doctor visits.

Someone said that to be an effective caregiver, we must begin to think like a CEO. Take Charge of certain situations with confidence and empathy.

First, Mike and I prepare for his doctor visits beginning with a discussion about the best time of day for the appointment. A time when he will be alert and able to contribute to the conversations about his health.  And, we write the appointment down on the calendar!

Second, We make a list of questions or changes–this is new to both of us but it is important. Under the best circumstances we  will only get half an hour with any of his doctors. To make that time as productive as possible, we need to have our ducks in a row.

Third, With every doctor visit, I have to remind myself One thing at a time. Ask the question; wait for the doc to check his computer to verify information; write down the answer and recommendations. Next question, etc. I’m learning this process of patience because Mike needs me to. He can only do one thing at a time. Turns out the docs like it that way too.

I recommend a great book, titled  Better, A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance, by Atul Gawande.  This book helped me understand the (frustrating) time segments that doctors must use for billing purposes. More importantly, Better is a book that reminds us that doctors are human too and knowing that makes doctors more accessible. As an advocate and wife of a person with Parkinson’s, I’ve discovered that it’s critical to make you and your partner memorable to at least one doctor on your team. For a CEO it is the most powerful skill we can develop. And we get to do it!

Next tip: Medications and Sharing the Load