'Do you think your dad has Parkinson's Disease?' mom asked me one night in the fall of 2003. I had recently read the Michael J Fox biography on his struggle with the disease, so it was fresh in my mind.
'I'll be right back.' I dashed off to the computer and did some research on it. (What WOULD we do without the Internet!!) On one of the sites, there was a 12 question Parkinson's quiz. I remember going through the questions and getting 10/12 right. I went back to mom and said,' I think you're right.'
Dad went to the neurologist in Nov 2003. (Three days after my maternal grandma's funeral.) I came home in the afternoon following the appointment and asked dad what the diagnosis was. He said, 'I have good news and bad news. The bad news is I have Parkinson's. The good news is that you don't die from it.'
No, but you have to live with it.
Parkinson's Disease is thought to be low levels of the chemical, dopomine, which tells the body to move. Dopomine is the chemical that allows our bodies to move in a smooth, controlled way. When 70% of dopomine-producing cells are damaged, that's when the Parkinson's symptoms occur.
Primary Symptoms
- Tremor
- Rigity or stiffness
- Bradykinesia
-Poor balance
Secondary Symtoms
- Constipation
- Difficulty swallowing
- Choking, coughing, or drooling
- Excessive salivation
- Excessive sweating
- Loss of bowel and/or bladder control
- Loss of intellectual capacity
- Anxiety, depression, isolation
- Scaling, dry skin on the face or scalp
- Slow response to questions
- Small cramped handwriting
- Soft, whispery voice
I'm not the Parkinson's expert (though I appear to be working on it!!)... so here are a couple of links for further information on the disease:
National Parkinson's Foundation: http://www.parkinson.org/
Michael J Fox Foundation: http://www.michaeljfox.org/
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