>Occasionally, my wife and I find time to go on a date. Sadly, such an event is frighteningly rare. We did manage to go on a date today, though. It was wonderful! My only frustration is that going out to lunch and seeing a movie wiped me out. Hopefully, we can still have some snuggling and romance tonight. Nonetheless, the chance to let everything else go and to get away with each other was glorious.
Our daughter headed off to a friend’s lake cabin today. Thus, we have the house to ourselves. I made the date suggestion last night when we knew that we would be childless for most of today. My wife jumped at the idea immediately. We even handled the dining choice well. Initially, I tried to wrack my brain for some place fun to eat near the theater, but narcolepsy does quite a number on memory and decision-making. As a result, we decided to drive toward the theater and then explore for a place to eat. The town preceding the movie theater is North Saint Paul. We eventually discovered downtown in North Saint Paul. That alone might have been worth the trip. Even though the city is technically an “inner ring suburb,” the place felt like the main drag of any out state town in Minnesota. It was wonderful!
We decided to eat at Cindy Jean’s. There were a few other choices, but the Legion Hall looked iffy and the bars were not the scene we wanted today. Cindy Jean’s was a riot. It has three tables and funky decor. There is a huge flat screen TV and a Wii. In fact, Cindy Jean’s apparently hosts regular Wii tournaments. The sandwiches were fantastic, and we thoroughly enjoyed the fun meal that we had there. We did feel bad for the other couple eating there. They had no cash, and Cindy Jean’s does not take plastic. Thus, the poor guy went looking for a cash machine. It sounded like he had to pay a bank to cash his check. And, he was gone for 20 minutes.
We then headed for the theater. We saw Sam Mendes‘ new film Away We Go. It stars Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski, and it is fantastic. My wife had seen some reviews that had raved about the film. It is beautifully shot, and the main characters definitely reminded us of each other. Krasinski and Rudolph work well together, and their characters make an odd, but well-matched couple (which is part of the reason we both identified with them – my wife is definitely the yin to my yang). As much as I enjoyed the film, I think the best part might have been reflecting on the film with my wife as we drove home. Nothing is more thrilling to me than getting a chance to be with my amazing wife.
Perhaps what made this day most special is that Monday (June 29) was our 18th anniversary. We did not have time to celebrate in any meaningful way. We definitely acknowledged the event, but having this sweet and simple date today was a perfect celebration for us (and of us). I adore my wife. She is the rock of our family. She is also the most wonderful, intelligent, gorgeous, exciting, sexy, sweet, gentle, driven, and gifted woman that I have ever met. I am blessed to be her husband. I know that I would not be handling my narcolepsy nearly as well without her constant love and support. Thankfully, our relationship goes stronger and deeper with each passing moment and every passing day.
>Today was wonderful (and exhausting). Approximately one year after making it to my first MOONS-MN meeting, I presented my story. I also shared the many online resources that have been such a tremendous help in my journey. I honestly feel like the presentation went extremely well.
Initially, the attendance looked to be low, but by the end of the meeting, the entire room was full. Even better, we had some returning members who had been unable to make the last few meetings. We also had two brand new people. One member informed me that he had been present when the Minnesota Narcolepsy Association was formed in the late seventies. I am super excited to work with him to get others from the earlier group re-connected to this newer version of the Minnesota support group.
I also must confess that I enjoyed sharing my own story with other PWNs. I find such power in speaking about my condition with peers who truly “get it.” The many nodding heads throughout the entire presentation definitely affirmed my experiences. Because MOONS, this blog, the Narcolepsy Network, and Facebook are so intertwined in my journey, all of my comments brought floods of memories into my head. I found myself quite emotional as I reflected on my initial experiences with the support group on Facebook. The knowledge that only one year had passed since I first attended a MOONS meeting stunned me.
I have made great connections online, but the core people at MOONS at so dear to me. My head spins trying to remember coping with narcolepsy without having them in my life. Yet, that was the reality for me during the first nine months after my diagnosis. Those months were so dark and difficult, but I survived. That initial meeting inspired me to join Narcolepsy Network and to attend the national conference. While I still know that narcolepsy challenges my patience and limits every single day, I have so much more hope. My online support is part of that, but MOONS itself has done more for me than anything else. I am blessed to know these other persons with narcolepsy.
>My plan is to post on topics from the conference throughout the next few days. I need to do this in small chunks or I will never get it done. Please feel free to use the comments section of each post as a place to ask questions. I feel like I learned something in every session that I attended. Part of the reason the weekend overwhelmed me is that information kept buzzing around my brain. All week, I have been trying to remain mindful of each moment, but the thoughts and insights of the conference continue to bombard me. Hopefully, getting some of them out of my head (and into electrons) will allow me to function a bit better at work and around my house.
The most incredible scientific/medical moment of the weekend was the keynote address. I figured listening to Dr. Emmanuel Mignot would be a powerful experience (he is one of the two leading researchers of narcolepsy in the world. The other is Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center). Dr. Mignot heads up the Center for Narcolepsy at Standford. He is once again on the verge of a major break through. Here are the basics from his talk:
1. They are using the Human Genome work and Affymetrix 6.0 Array Set: Genome Wide Association to look for other common variants within the genomes of people with narcolepsy with cataplexy. The Array allows blood samples to be tested against 906,600 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and 946,000 Copy Number Variations. Thus, with massive sample groups, a research can find common variants within common disease groups. This same testing is being used for a number of other common diseases (including many autoimmune diseases) like Celiac’s Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Basically, the researcher wants to find a high p-value.
2. The paper published by Japanese scientists and Dr. Mignot at the end of September found a couple of genes in a study in Japan that had a smaller population sample (222 PWNs w/ C vs. 389 Control subjects). The two genes involved in the common variant both have roles in the sleep cycle. The study was repeated using a Korean group, a Caucasian group and an African-American group. The correlation was present in the Korean group, but not the other two. So that variant is likely only in Asian populations.
3. Dr. Mignot did a much larger study in the U.S. He tested 809 PWNs w/ cataplexy against 1120 Controls (all who had HLA-DQB1*0602 – this is the autoimmune factor that is definitely involved in causing narcolepsy). While Dr. Mignot did not tell us the name of the gene that they found, he did say that they found one. He also said that the protein that it controls is a part of the immune system and works with HLA like a hand and glove relationship. Needless to say, he is extremely excited about this. The p-value was 10 to the 12th power (which is insanely high). He still must replicate the results before he can publish, but he believes that this is a major discovery. While he still needs blood from 400 more PWNs w/ cataplexy in the U.S. to finish the replication, he is also doing a study in Japan with 800 PWNs and 800 Controls.
4. Finally, he has had the chance to work with five PWNs within a few months of symptom onset. As a result, he has done a western blot on them from their liver and found the same triplet of results. The five also all had recent viral infections and corresponding anti-infection antibodies. There needs to be far more research done, but he believes that Immunologists could devise a way to interrupt the disease process/autoimmune response that leads to narcolepsy.
The only part that is hard in all of this is that it is focused on Narcolepsy with Cataplexy. I might have abnormal or rare cataplexy, but am not sure. Even if I do, I am grouped in the same catagory of Narcolepsy without Cataplexy. As a result of that, my version of this disease might be highly different than what Dr. Mignot has discovered. I hope not. He certainly believes that figuring out Narcolepsy with Cataplexy will provide insights into the full spectrum of Narcolepsy. Nonetheless, it is unnerving to think that what I have is MORE complex than what his YEARS of research have uncovered. Still, it is exciting. The part that gives me the most hope is the clear link to some type of infectious agent having a role as a potential trigger. Even the remote possibility that this condition might be connected to my four bouts of Mono and/or my chronic toncillitis and/or my chronic sinusitis is thrilling.
Here is a link to a published Google Doc of my notes – http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=d6qf3b7_613mp98wg8. Folks should feel free to check them out. The talk was amazing. Perhaps the funniest thing is that Dr. Mignot completely seems like the absent minded, but brilliant, professor type. His clothes were fairly rumpled and a friend of mine told me that he reminds her of Dr. Oliver Sacks (whose life story was made into the movie Awakenings – Robin Williams plays the Sacks character, Dr. Sayer). Dr. Sacks is also brilliant, but can’t seem to button his own clothes correctly. I always find it refreshing when “ordinary” (or even odd-looking) people prove to be extraordinary. Dr. Mignot certainly fits the bill!
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