The events after my son Patrick's first birthday in 1991 brought a dizzying amount of changes in my life. At the time I was a single mother, working full-time and enrolled in a master's program for my reading specialist certification. I also began dating a former high school friend. Life was busy, but I felt going in an uphill fashion. That was until my ob-gyn wanted me to seek consultation from a neurologist for some stiffness/numbness, and tingling of my left extremeties.
After review of the MRI, the neurologist diagnosed immediately Parkinson's Disease. I was prescribed low dosages of medication, along with a high concentration of Vitamin E to maintain and encourage new cell growth.
This was the beginning of the saga of a young onset parkinson's disease patient--ME!!
Now I will give you the update of my Parkinson's progression over that 9 year time span. The PD slowly and quietly continued to take control of the quality of my life.
There is this invisible monster that now causes tremors which take over my entire body. I refer to them as my 'personal earthquakes.' Medications for tremor control have not been tolerated by my body readily. Nausea and vomiting was an everday side effect of the medications. My body now functions in slow motion, where everday tasks such as washing the dishes, have become a major accomplishment of the day. My left extremeties are in a constant state of 'tightness', which then leads to muscle cramping with severe intensity. I currently take my medicine evey 3 hours attempting to help relieve the PD symptoms .
Monday, July 24,2000 I will undergo a deep brain stimultor implantation of the the sub-thalamic-nuclei of the brain. Using 2 different magnetic wands, the wands will separately regulate each implant as neede for that side of my body.
This procedure was to have taken place last week, however, the insurance company refused to pay for the procedure 2 days prior to surgery.
Therefore, this page is the springboard for my personal quest to promote awareness of Parkinson's and the advocacy of insurance practices reform.
I will update this page as frequently as I will be capable of doing so....
