Well, he eventually did think differently. He lost his ability to think and his last year or two were without dignity and this for a very dignified man. We were able to care for him for awhile, but eventually he had to go to a care home. It was all very depressing; although, there were a couple of humorous incidents. Here's one I can still chuckle at. My father wore glasses and they kept falling off. A volunteer optician came to the care facility and offered to fix the glasses. He took out a little kit and eventually fixed them. While working on them, he turned to my brother and me and said, "He just has a little screw loose." Then realizing where we were and my father's condition, he turned red and embarrassingly added, "You know I mean the glasses, don't you?"
We laughed and told him we knew what he meant. Both of us thought that his turn of phrase was very funny, but that poor optician only gave us an embarrassed smile and, flustered, he silently returned to his work.
My father never wanted to be a burden on his family and fortunately, as a vet, he was able to be placed in the best care facility in the city, so he was only a burden on my mother for a few months. He would have dropped dead on the spot if he had realized the effect of his condition on his family.
That is my greatest fear - that I will become a burden. I am fairly certain it won't happen but if it does, just stand me against a wall and shoot me. After all, they shoot horses, don't they?
On a happier note, I read today that tremor dominant PD progresses very slowly in most cases but it is harder to control with drugs. I am lucky on two fronts. First, I have tremor dominant PD and it appears that it is progressing slowly and second, the drugs work wonders. As long as I am taking them, I have no tremor and outwardly I appear entirely normal....that is until I open my mouth, which can't keep up with my brain.Oh well, that symptom is easy to control. My silence is becoming deafening.
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