Book review: Colorado "Shaky Paws Grampa" helps kids understand Parkinson's

NONFICTION: CHILDREN'S

Carson and His Shaky Paws Grandpa

by Kirk Hall (Innovo Publishing)

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Carson Hall was 7 years old when he noticed that his grandfather, Kirk Hall , always seemed to be trembling and a little unsteady.

"How come you shake?" Carson asked.

"Because Grampa has shaky paws," Kirk Hall answered, reducing his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease to a flippant phrase that a youngster could understand.

Hall, 62,enjoyed recounting that story to his friends. He got such a good reaction that he decided to write "Carson and His Shaky Paws Grampa," a book for other children whose families are affected by Parkinson's

Carson and his Shaky Paws Grampa, by Kirk Hall, illustrated by Alison Paolini (|)

disease.

A former marketing executive with American Express, Colorado Christian publishers and other companies before retiring in 2008, Hall kept the story tight.

He wanted "enough but not too much" information about Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, a similar movement disorder that sometimes precedes or accompanies Parkinson's. In the United States, nearly 1 million people are living with Parkinson's disease, with an estimated 60,000 new diagnoses each year, according to the Parkinson Association of the Rockies. The cause of the disease is unknown, and there is currently no cure.

But as Hall demonstrates, coping with it and communicating with others about the disease are important and can be done with humor, as well.

"I like the line about my 'pain-in-the-neck brother,'" said Carson, who is 8 now, with bright eyes and a thatch of brown hair, and is in second grade at Sand Creek Elementary School.

Other readers might chuckle at the gentle jokes Kirk Hall plays on himself. After the grandfather in his book explains the "shaky paws" line, he tells his grandson not to worry:

"I can stir my coffee without even trying!"

In the book, Hall refers to "a special procedure" that would eliminate the grandfather's "shakiness."

The procedure was deep-brain stimulation, a relatively new treatment that implants a neurostimulator that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the brain. The stopwatch-sized device, approved as a treatment for Parkinson's about 10 years ago, has helped control tremors in Hall and other patients with Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.

With Hall's equilibrium restored, he and Carson are again playing baseball, football and ladderball, a tossing game that involves two balls connected by a string and a goal shaped like a wide ladder. In the book, Grampa and Carson celebrate with teasing and tickling.

With the help of friends in Colorado's publishing industry — Innovo, the Christian publishing house, was one of Hall's clients before he retired — and his marketing skills, Hall published "Carson and His Shaky Paws Grampa" last fall. Carson took his copy to school, where his teacher read it aloud to the class.

The book is available at innovo publishing.com and shakypaws grampa.blogspot.com.

Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com

Visit link:
Book review: Colorado "Shaky Paws Grampa" helps kids understand Parkinson's