5th March 2008 - Parkinsons

One of the carers phoned me today. Dad had had another couple of falls and had very low blood pressure so they had called for the GP. There was nothing to be concerned about - I was told - he was fine but the GP has sent for an appointment at the local hospital specialising in diseases of the elderly to have an assessment done on him - primarily assessing for Parkinsons disease.

At first I was appalled. Thinking - Parkinons too? Surely not, not as well as the dementia, can the man not get a break? But after a bit I started thinking that maybe, if he can get drug treatment that helps the shuffling, that aids his mobility, maybe that's a good thing. I took a trip to the internet to read up about Parkinsons. I have a friend who has Parkinsons. I made a mental note to call her the next day. Maybe it'll help Dad. Hopefully.