Parkinson's

[Passenger Mark]

My Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Anyone have any family experience with this?

The Doctor said he would discuss it more in detail next week when he goes in for some more tests. We have been looking stuff up on the internet for now.

He was diagnosed last week, and physically he is doing fine, but he obviously was not happy with the diagnosis. I have been spending a lot of time down there. So I apologize for not being around here more.

[Passenger Mark]

Barb sent me the link for Michael J. Fox's site. Thanks Barb!

Funny the photo of him on the main page reminds me of my Dad. Emotionless face

My Dad has always smiled... but that was the first thing we noticed... no emotion in his face.

He does not have the shaking or tremors like Michael J. Fox, and the Doctors are not sure if he ever will. I hope not.

For a bit we thought the trouble that he has walking was due to a medication he was taking for another condition. The Doctors said that it may actually be from the Parkinson's.

The hardest part is emotional. He is not suppose to be driving now, and as it goes on will loose a lot of his independence. The pilots here can most like appreciate this... as he is (never a was) a USAF Fighter Pilot, Aerospace Engineer, and has always thought and done for himself. The leader of the family, and any organization he is a part of.

This is going to be the part that we as the family will help him with. And for me is going to be the hardest part. He is my mentor, and the smartest person I know.

[Barb-SAN]

The hardest part is emotional. He is not suppose to be driving now, and as it goes on will loose a lot of his independence. The pilots here can most like appreciate this... as he is (never a was) a USAF Fighter Pilot, Aerospace Engineer, and has always thought and done for himself. The leader of the family, and any organization he is a part of.

This is going to be the part that we as the family will help him with. And for me is going to be the hardest part. He is my mentor, and the smartest person I know.

Mark, I'm so sorry....as I'm sure this will be a challenging adjustment for all of you. Has he given any thought to writing his memoirs? That would be a way of passing on the valuable contribution of his wisdom and experience to the "younger generation". It is also something productive to do that could help take the focus off of what he's lost (the driving...which most older people do have to give up eventually...:(...even US, some day).

[Passenger Mark]

That is a great idea Barb... and one I have not thought of. I am going to see if I can get him interested in it!

Thanks for the hint!

[EyesSkyward]

Hey Mark,

I wondered if there might be any forums like this one, but for Parkinson's (both the suffers and their caretakers). Here are the results of a couple of Google searches I ran:

Parkinson's support message board (http://www.google.com/search?q=parkinson%27s+support+message+board)

Parkinson's support forum (http://www.google.com/search?q=parkinson%27s+support+forum)

I bet if you poked around in those links, you're bound to find something.

Good luck!

- Jeff

[Barb-SAN]

That is a great idea Barb... and one I have not thought of. I am going to see if I can get him interested in it!

Thanks for the hint!

My Dad did his a few years ago and my brother wrote it on his computer complete with lots of photos and made copies for all of us. It's something I certainly treasure, and I think he enjoyed writing it too.

Surely your Dad has many interesting tales of adventure from his days as a pilot too. Perhaps he would even share some of them with us here. We are always looking for pilots with experience! :D

[Passenger Mark]

Surely your Dad has many interesting tales of adventure from his days as a pilot too. Perhaps he would even share some of them with us here. We are always looking for pilots with experience! :D

He is registered here as F86 Pilot. He has made some posts, but not many. But I will try to get him around again. He did receive the same emails everyone else had received... and oddly enough continue to receive. :shakehead

[WillFlyToDisney]

Hugs, Mark. Your Dad is just precious. I hope he is doing well.

Kel

[spiffyone]

No one in my family, but I had a beloved dean with Parkinson's who continued teaching and lecturing for many years - and driving his car. Last I heard he was still on faculty in an emeritus position.
I think it really depends on how quickly the disease progresses - some people do really well for a long time and others (like MJF, it seems) decline rapidly and the symptoms become very noticeable.
It is hard to say "wait and see" when you are looking for some sense as to how to think about this now...but I think you will have a lot better idea how he is going to do, when he gets started on meds and starts living with it.
My (limited) experience as a physician has always been that it is a chronic enough disease that family members have plenty of time to think about it and deal with it before patients begin to get worse (and many don't, for a long time).

[Rebecca]

My great-aunt had Parkinson's for many years, but only passed away last month at age 99. Aside from not driving and having some usual age-related things (broke a hip, failing eyesight), she lived quite normally. She was mentally sharp and very much herself until very near the end. Let us hope your Dad is of the slow-progression type, Mark. :hug:

[Passenger Mark]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I think the hardest part will be the Psychological side of it. He has always been a strong person, and a "in charge" kind of person.

The other day I told him it might be a good idea to let Mom drive till he knew how the new meds would react. It broke his heart. I too am having to learn how to deal with it.

But Barb-Sans idea for the memoirs is fantastic! I already have them at work on that. He is writing things up, and my mom is collecting the photos. Then I am going to have the photos scanned, put them together with his writings.

I have extra space on the Taking Flight domain and will start a separate website publishing it all. That way all the family can enjoy!

The really great thing... is it is a team effort... a positive effort!