My mission is to encourage and support those who care for a loved one with Parkinson's Disease, or any other chronic or degenerative disease. I pray that today's post will accomplish that in a small way.
The symptoms associated with Parksinon's Disease are varied and are many. They appear in random order, which can be confusing to the casual observer. For us, there were 2-3 bothersome issues that drove us to seek a diagnosis from the doctor. None of these were "fixable", so life became tolerable. And just when we felt comfortable with those conditions, suddenly a new symptom appeared. The other shoe dropped.
If we could not rid ourselves of that symptom, we just had to adapt to it. Again life settled in and became comfortable until a new situation occurred. This new symptom required a trip to a doctor or 2 to find a solution, which may or may not have worked. Life settled down again until _ _ _ _ _
Rinse and repeat. The other shoe dropped again. Does this sound familiar? This is the story of PD as well as other degenerative diseases. It can be an exhausting way to live! The list of annoying symptoms that PD patients can exhibit is long, but it is worth listing a few here. How many have you noticed at your house?
- Shuffling feet, leaning to one side, falling, freezing
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Difficulty swallowing (pills or drink or food)
- Softer voice
- Sensitive to smells and/or taste (maybe metallic)
- Double vision
- Constipation/Diarrhea
- Anxiety
- Either high or low blood pressure
- Small or unreadable handwriting
The good thing is that not all PD patients have all of these symptoms. And don't panic! They do not appear all at the same time. They will appear slowly at first, and we can be thankful for that. But this is PD, and it is degenerative. There will be good moments and difficult moments, but we do adapt and settle in with each new problem.
You might ask, "How do I cope with all of this?" You are already doing many things to help. By reading this blog and doing research, you are educating yourself to know what to expect. Seek help from a local support group if there is one available. It helps to know you are not alone as a caregiver. Also, seek the advice of your doctor as often as possible.
It is most important to lean in toward your family, your friends, and your faith during this journey. They will be with you in the critical hours, and they will give you the courage to be ready for the next shoe to drop - the next symptom to appear.
It is an honor to be able to correspond with many of you by messenger, email, and phone during this time. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need to vent or ask questions. I pray God's blessing over each of you right now, and I pray for these 2 things for YOU, just as I always prayed for myself while I was caring for Carlton. May God give you strength to care for your loved ones, and may He give you wisdom to know exactly HOW to care for them.
Thank you for reading and commenting. Please email me at cherylcaregiver71@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment