Dear Johanna - my heart goes out to you. What a heartbreaking and unnessary
tradgy. First of all, your father must have suffered in his mind so much.
Back in the early to mid 60's my mother-in-law suffered so much with
PD. That was before Sinemet and before there was much information about
Parkinson's. I'm afraid Parkinson's was just a word to those of us close to
her - we did not understand what she was going though. When she became worse
her doctor's who didn't seem much more informed than we were put her on some
medication (I don't recall what) she had terrible hallucations just like your
father. When we talked to the Dr. about what hell she was in his comment was
it was either that or she could shake herself to death. She would sit and
before long she was soaking wet from all the sweat caused by her shaking.
It gets worse. She started not to trust anyone, especially her
family. And most regretably she became terrified of my husband who had
always been the one she depended on most, and myself. To make matters worse
it caused her so much pain when we came to see her we could no longer see
her. More than once we found out she had fallen early in the day and when
the son that lived with her came home she would be in a puddle of her own
sweat and there was nothing we could do about it. After much trying to
convince the family she would be better off in a nursing home and after
calling countless nursing homes who all said their waiting list was many
months long, I finally convinced a fine place for her only a few blocks from
our home to take her and we, and by this time most of the family were so
thankful for their compasion. The doctor at the home took her off the
medication and I don't know what they did except make her feel safe and cared
for but the rest of her days she was no longer fearful.
I now have pd myself and know a little of what she went through and
none of us understood or knew what to do for her. I still think of the
uncaring Dr. who let her life be hell and let her suffer so much from h----.
I don't know what she would have done if we had not gotten her away from him.
Because of her insurance at the time, that was the only approved Dr. she
could see.
Did your father's doctor know about his problems with his medication?
Did they care? My heart breaks for you and your Mother and family because I
believe it was such a cruel and unnessary death.
May God give you peace. h
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