The Parkinson's Monster

The Parkinson's Monster

Yes, Parkinson's Disease is a truly horrible disease. As many know, there are famous people like Mudhammad Ali and Michael J. Fox who are afflicted by the disease. Parkinson's isn't normally a cause of death. Normally, causes of death are less directly influenced by Parkinson's. Furthermore, the course of the disease varies dramatically from victim to victim. It doesn't always work its way into the throat, but it can, and it did in this case.

Dad went through VP shunt in 2010 and was hit by a paralyzing stroke in Oct 2011, he then was diagnosed with PD stage V and ever since I have seen his decline rather rapid decline. It's a disease you can't ignore, because it constantly affects you. His body soon developed an ongoing tremor that only eased when he was asleep. I'd give him a hug hello or goodbye, and I'd feel the tremor directly. It was like he had a strong electric current that was constantly running through his body. Imagine having your hands connected to both terminals of a strong battery, endlessly, all day long, and you'll have a taste of what it's like.

He had Obstructive sleep apnea and also developed the Sundowners syndrome, also known as sundowning, refers to a symptom often associated with the early stages of dementia, including Alzheimer's. It can also be considered a mood disorder or even a sleep disorder. Sufferers experience periods of extreme agitation and confusion during the late afternoon or early evening hours, leading to irritability towards caregivers or hospital staff. The exact cause of Sundowners remains a mystery. It was originally believed to be a result of missed day/night light cues — a malfunctioning internal biological clock — hence the sudden onset at sundown. More recent research has raised the possibility of more organic causes such as drug interactions or stress associated with lower cognitive function.

He was again admitted to the hospital in Feb2012 for a severe chest infection which we later found to be aspiration pneumonia but was cured to the point that we took him home and with a lot of physio therapy he did regain working right side and his quality of life was better. I began to notice that he difficulty swallowing day by day and after some research found that he had dysphagia.

Due to the progressive loss of muscle control – both voluntary and involuntary – many other symptoms can develop in a patient suffering from Parkinson’s disease besides the typical symptoms of tremor and rigidity. Dysphagia is one such symptom. Dysphagia or difficulty in swallowing is a common problem in people with Parkinson’s disease which can have far-reaching consequences.Dysphagia can lead to shorter survival time in a patient with Parkinson’s disease, not only because the affected muscles of the throat may make swallowing difficult – hence less food intake and increased chances of under-nutrition of the patient – but also because it increases the possibility of aspiration pneumonia.

All hell broke lose in the first week of April when sudden hallucinations turned into dementia and we were in an out of hospital. In the second week of April, we brought him home, got his room ready as all this had already take a toll on my mother who is also a patient of complex ailments and has been his caregiver as we have been a team.

On 18th April 2012, I came down to go to the office and as usual stopped to look in on my father and have breakfast with my mother when I saw that his blood pressure was sky high and the medical caregivers my brother had arranged were busy in making him comfortable, I called up my younger brother and he got the ambulance to take him to the hospital. As we were waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I noticed that he was having a stroke which was quickly followed by a number of seizures. 

The Seizures were effecting his left (strong) side of his body from face to foot and I could see his despair and fright. Even though he could not speak but the scream that he let out with the onset of a seizure broke our hearts. We took him to the hospital emergency where he was treated but soon after this he was largely unresponsive. He was still struggling to live and breathe, even in unconsciousness.

He has been in the intensive care unit and his vitals are slowly coming down, Last night his respiratory crashed and they revived it but its shallow and I can see that he is in pain. As I touched him in this effort, I couldn't avoid sensing through my fingertips how little there was left to his body. All the meat was gone, consumed by the rest of his body in its ongoing struggle to survive. There was literally nothing more than skin, bones, and some organs left.

We as a family have decided not to resuscitate or have artificial life support for our father as we no longer can see him suffer in this misery. I can write a lot here and have left so many heartaches and painful memories of this monster eating dad up from the inside but they are truly to painful. Only those who have gone through this situation or similar can understand what this monster is and what it really does.

The Disease
So how do I make
my peace with this?
This invader
This thief
This jailor.
This stranger in
my body.
There should be a dance for this.
A song
A story
Some marking of the change.
Not this slow invasion into
every part of me.
Each day I number causalities.
Some battles lost, some battles won.
Some remain the same.
As the man I was
And that man that I am,
Change places.

Five Stages of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system primarily affecting motor functions. Approximately 1 million Americans live with the disease and 60,000 are newly diagnosed each year, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. For unknown reasons, brain cells die off in dopamine-producing areas of the brain leading to symptoms such as tremors, slow movement, muscle rigidity and balance impairments. Parkinson's disease is classified according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale, based upon the presence and severity of symptoms.
 

Stage I

In the beginning stages of Parkinson's disease, symptoms are generally mild and only cause minor inconveniences in day-to-day living. Minor tremors or shaking occurs, but is unilateral, affecting only one side of the body. Along with minor tremors, an individual's posture and balance become poorer and abnormal facial expressions become apparent. Overall, this stage causes no major problems and can last for several years.
Blood Clot Treatments A resource for physicians and patients about thrombosis! www.Thrombosisadviser.com
Sponsored Links
 

Stage II

In the second stage of Parkinson's disease, bilateral symptoms develop in which both sides of the body are affected. Disability is minimal and daily tasks can still be performed, but are much harder to complete. Walking and balance problems become more severe with further declines in posture. This is the stage in which Parkinson's disease drugs are most often prescribed along with dopamine agonists that activate dopamine receptors, and anticholinergics that block nerve impulses.
 

Stage III

Also called moderate Parkinson's disease, symptoms in stage III are more severe and tend to be more debilitating to the individual's daily life. Physical movements become much slower and major impairments in walking straight and standing are present. Falling down is more common increasing the risk of injuries, especially in the elderly. More powerful Parkinson's medications are generally prescribed at this stage of the disease, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
 

Stage IV

Stage IV is referred to as advanced Parkinson's disease. Symptoms are severe and the individual is unable to complete day-to-day tasks and walking is little, if at all. For these reasons, stage IV Parkinson's patients are unable to live alone and are generally confined to a wheelchair. Surgery is an option at this stage to alleviate some of the symptoms, but only in young and healthy individuals.
 

Stage V

Stage V is the most advanced stage of Parkinson's disease. Symptoms are severe enough that individuals are unable to provide self-care and require around-the-clock care. Cachexia occurs in which unwanted loss of weight and muscle mass occurs. The overall quality of life of individuals in this stage declines due to multiple reasons such as speaking and movement difficulties, incontinence issues, frequent hospitalizations and recurrent infections. Therapies are the least effective in this stage of the disease. Surgical pallidotomy is an option and involves destroying a small set of brain cells to help alleviate some of the symptoms caused by Parkinson's medications, such as tremors, muscle rigidity and slowed movement.Courtesy livestrong.com