Hi Carol -
One of the scariest things I encounter is falling. Poor balance and
falling are what first brought me to the doctor where I was diagnosed as
having Parkinson's. I've had major falls that put me in the hospital, both
before and after Ifinding out what was wrong. After a few falls I got
careless and climbed on top of a chair to dust the top of a tall piece of
furniture (my husband says I jus had to dust it before the maid came as I
didn't want her to think I was a poor housekeeper) and I fell off and
shattered my wrist and injured my shoulder. My doctor told me to go to bed
and stay there until I had time to heal. After that fall is when I went to
see the Neurologist. I tried to be careful and I learned how to fall with the
least chance of injury. But again a couple of years ago I missed the bottom
step and snapped several bones in my foot and leg. This time they did
surgery and I was in the hospital three days and in a nursing home two and a
half weeks.
When I went back to my Internist he said it was time for me to get a
power operated wheel chair. Someone was sent out to my house to see if I
could use it inside the house as that is all they approve it for and if I was
in real need of it "yet." They at first turned me down but when my
Internist found out, he sent a hot letter asking them if they had ever heard
of Parkinson's and didn't they know it was progressive? They approved it and
would have given me a scooter without cost to me. (I paid about $2600 extra
to get the Jazzy.)
I said all that to say that my falls in my home just don't happen
anymore and I can get around "on" or "off" with safety. What a difference it
has made in my feelings of independence and safety. If you don't already have
a power chair I'd sure look into getting one. helen
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