KAYAKING FOR TOURETTES

About Me.

My name is Bob, AKA "Cat Guy Tourette" and I was age seven when diagnosed with Tourette syndrome a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive vocal and motor tics affecting about 200,000 people in the United States. I am now age forty-one and still have it but have chosen to do something to help others with this disorder and also myself while pursuing my passion for snowboarding, something that gives me great relief from the tics. The Disorder is named after the French neurologist Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette. It is an inherited disorder and there is no cure.

My Story

A few years ago I went through a divorce, this was the best thing to happen to me as it woke me up and made me realize that life is way to short not to be doing the things I want to do. This was a life changing experience for me both financially and emotionally and the biggest reason that I started this website. I want to educate myself and others what Tourette Syndrome is like to live with. There are websites and television shows that make fun of the disorder and make it like people with TS use profane language often when in fact Less than 15% of persons with Tourettes use foul language. I believe this is how you are raised. I say weird phrases sometimes, or rhyme things and repeat things like a parrot. There are some really good shows like the HBO documentary " I have Tourettes, But TS does not have me". also check out Front of the Class by Brad Cohen I do not take any medication ever since a bad reaction to Haloperidol almost twenty five years ago. Living with TS  when I was growing up in the Seventy's was difficult for me as most people had no clue what TS was. I took many different medicines at that time, like a guinea pig, Most people with Tourettes have unique talents and many have careers as doctors, lawyers, and other professions. Jim Eisenreich has Tourettes and was a major league baseball player. Famous people with Tourettes. I am for example, well organized, and have to keep everything in it's place. I hardly ever use profane language, the biggest thing I do is repeat things that others say. or come  up with weird nicknames for people, for example: the name Rafael (Rafy duck) or Charlie (Charlie brown) There are times I can be real quiet  and other times my vocal and motor tics even annoy me. This is the nature of the disorder as it can be suppressed for sometime but eventually needs to be released. I try to avoid stress as much as possible and limit my consumption of sweets and do not drink coffee as these make me worse. One of the worst problems for me are sleeping problems. I also have a condition known as Alopecia Areata, meaning I lost most my hair, do to my immune system attacking my hair follicles. I like to do volunteer work with different environmental organizations, and like to recycle as much as possible, doing my responsible part for the earth. I would like to find my soul mate, someone who does not care that I have TS., cares for the environment, enjoys the outdoors, likes animals and most of all allow me to fulfill my mission of raising money for TSA to find a cure. I would like to find sponsors for either kayaking or snowboarding. I would like to have an environmental friendly home using solar power and other technologies. I recently installed a rain barrel to collect water from roof of house to water flowers and conserve water and reduce runoff. I am a true handyman, something I learned from my father when I was younger, during the summer I would go to work with him. I can build or fix most anything around the home and like old houses, as there is so much you can do to them. I also like to garden and do landscape work. I enjoy adventure sports like kayaking and snowboarding, both are great exercise and allow me to be myself, as conditions constantly change and give me excellent relief of my tics.. I also like to inline skate, and hike in the mountains. I enjoy all kind of music now, before I was married I mostly listened to oldies, and classic rock, and at one time country music. I enjoy website design as you can see by this website.