At 12:33 PM 3/25/97 -0500, you wrote:
>At 10:41 am 25/03/97 -0500, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>>I understand how others on the list do not appreciate this message or
>>the one that prompted it, but I have read this list for four years and this
>>is the first time anything useful has been said in regards to end stages
>>of these diseases.  Everyone else is too young or not this far
>>progressed and they refuse for this subject context to get anywhere
>>near 'THEIR LIST'.  Well, we all have problems, we all have stages, and
>>some of you may or may not get to these stages, but why is this list
>>only for the fit patients, why isn't it for the ones who need the help most
>>urgently?  Why would anyone want to deny a dying person information
>>as to the last stages of their disease, is it only so they can deny they
>>may reach the same?  Don't you all need to know this is possible and
>>shouldn't you all have a living will stating your wishes?  I can promise
>>you that had Neida understood these back when she could talk or walk
>>or write - she would have made her own wishes known in a living will,
>>not only for herself - but also to prevent her children from having to
>>agonize over them now.
>
>Dear Louise,
>        I am in early stage Parkinson's, and though reading letters like
>yours and Ray's are somewhat unsettling, I am sorry that you feel this kind
>of information is not wanted on this list. No, end stage PD is not a pretty
>story, but realistically, once diagnosed, it is an end we must all face,
>like it or not. True, we younger ones, and early stage PWP want to be
>optimistic and hope that a cure is just around the corner, and the knowledge
>gleaned from others is most beneficial.
>        However, IMHO, this list should not, and is not just for the fit
>patients, and it should be for anyone in any circumstance who needs help
>urgently or not with a Parkinson's situation.
>        In 1977, my elderly Mother had a stroke, and my family was asked by
>the attending physician in the Emergency Department, if we wanted a DNR
>order written on her chart. Our decision was - yes, because we knew that's
>what our Mother would have wanted.
>        In 1993, my husband and I went through a horrific weekend after
>finding my older sister lying at the top of the stairs in her home, having
>suffered a stroke and in a diabetic coma. After she was admitted to ICU, the
>doctors put her on life support without asking me, even though it had been
>made quite clear that there was little hope for recovery. Finally on the
>Sunday afternoon I told the resident in ICU that this situation could not
>continue. By that time, one of my brothers had arrived and he agreed. The
>resident simply asked, "What would your sister want?" We said, "She would
>want to be let go." These decisions are not easy, but as Ray said, "when you
>get to the stage where you are asked to sign a DNR statement, to do so is
>the more merciful act."
>        My heart goes out to everyone who must face this situation.
>
>Judith
hello judith you where right. as i had pd for 25yrs. won,t take the time to
tell you all i do,and meds i take. you can email me. we sent for some more
tulips. can we ger them in good u.s.a.? thank you for them. don I.Y.Q.