I was dreaming of maybe getting a new motorcycle, not the first signs of Parkinson's

When I was younger, I never gave a passing thought about what I might have to endure when I grew old. Alzheimer’s. Dementia. Cancer. Kidney disease. Nope, not on MY radar. I’m going to die an old man in my bed reading a good book, or a not quite so old man riding a motorcycle down the backroads, never seeing the deer that walked out in front of me.

But my perspective changed one night after I had fallen out of bed.

MESSAGE TO MY WIFE: “Do you remember about a month ago, you heard some kind of sound in the middle of the night which woke you up and it made you curious enough to grab a flashlight and aim it at the bathroom door, trying to see which cat was playing hockey in the bathtub? Well, I was awake. I had just fallen out of bed. I had gotten back in bed by the time you turned on the flashlight, and I pretended to be asleep because I was embarrassed.”

I had been having a dream. I was sitting on stage with a bunch of students. I don’t know why we were there, but a student beside me started playing around on the floor. I reached out my left foot to hopefully nudge him back to his chair — and the fall woke me up. I wasn’t hurt. Just shocked.

The next morning, I started an "acting out my dreams" journal.

• I reached out during a dream to swat at something (can’t remember what), and I hit my bedside table. It woke me up.
• I dreamed I nodded my head answering a question, and woke up nodding my head.
• I dreamed some kind of animal was charging me. I waved my hands and yelled to scare it away. I woke up yelling out (more of a grunt, really)
• I dreamed I was pointing my hand at someone and woke up pointing my hand.
• I woke up swatting at a giant dream spider that was walking across my bed.

All of this led me to start asking questions about acting out your dreams instead of your body being immobilized, like it should be. The deep dive into the subject wasn’t reassuring. 

What I found out is that I MAY have an REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) which can be one of the first symptoms of Parkinson’s, occurring years before a diagnosis.” I got that info from the Michael J. Fox Foundation website. Even worse is that “RBD may be associated with other neurological conditions, such as Dementia with Lewy Bodies.” I got that from the Mayo Clinic.

(Dementia with Lewy Bodies is what caused Robin Williams to…well, you know.)

MESSAGE TO MY WIFE: “I don’t want you to be worried about it, I’m worried enough for the both of us, but I want you to know that I think I’m following the right procedures by keeping a dream journal, and I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled for November. 

“No, I don’t have any tremors or limb stiffness or trouble with balance. I’m not hallucinating, don’t have delusions, anxiety or depression. But I am thinking about buying that motorcycle. Best to buy it now while I’m not all shaky-shaky, and get some good riding in before I am.”

So. That’s my story. I imagine I’ll have to go in for a sleep study, and I’m hoping they’ll find everything hunky-dory and that I more than likely drink too much coffee. Either way, I’m eyeing a 2026 Kawasaki W-800, or a Triumph Bonneville T-120. I just can’t make up my mind — which is perfectly normal for me.