Bryan (who never sleeps) in the City that Never Sleeps

I have never been a good sleeper.  I have always envied individuals who say, "don't wake me, I wanna get a good 12 hours in."  What type of life do they have where they can be asleep for half of the day?!?

Since I have had PD, my sleep has become exponentially worse.  If I get a good 4 hours, I'm ahead of the game.  I don't have trouble falling asleep but sustaining sleep is an issue. Sleep disorders are common in Parkinson's patients---it is estimated 2/3 of all PD patients experience them.

So you're asking, "Roberts, where are you going with this?" I am in NYC on business and also donating some skin (referenced in a previous post) for stem cell research. Two nights have gone by and I've slept a total of six hours.  What have I been doing while Manhattan rests? I've been:

• closely managing my fantasy basketball (we need a new stadium!)
• reading Let the Great World Spin
• searching for "cats in funny outfits" on Google
• searching for "Bryan M Roberts" on Google (pathetic, I know)
• researching my new man-crush, Amidah Brimah 

So for the final night on my trip, I am instead going to list some observations from the past week

• Thank you for the overwhelming response that I received for the "guest blogger" post on the Fox Foundation webpage.  I've emailed with scores of people who said the article helped them come to terms with going public. I'm glad it helped although I still maintain that the term "guest blogger" is the worst title I have had since my high school days of, "assistant stockboy."

• I am in NYC mainly to welcome a new cohort of students to Ithaca College's ICNYC campus. I had lunch with the students and their interest in PD and the positive attitude that they bring toward helping be part of the solution inspires me. It will take intelligence and engagement to solve complex problems and these students are ready to take on life's challenges.

• Dined with a woman and her husband on Saturday night---the woman just received a PD diagnosis.  They were a delight but it did remind me of how hard that first month was.  This woman has a ton to contribute to PD advocacy but coming to terms with her condition is the first order of business.  (writer's note: did you know that I received my diagnosis when I saw my neuro during the noon hour lunch break?  What did I do? Got in my car and went back to work.)

• Best of luck to Mike Fox at the Golden Globes tonight. Rolling Stone said it best: