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Hello, I just began subscribing to this account last week after stumbling upon it quite accidentally! I am an Undergraduate student in my final year of studies here in San Diego, CA. My interest has always been on the internet, but my interest in this group is more personal. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years ago at the young age of 46 years. Needless to say I was a bit disheartened as I started doing research about the disease to learn that people usually don't get diagnosed so young, though they may have the disease for over 20 years before being diagnosed. What bothers me the most about him and this disease is that the disease seemed to progress very suddenly and quickly upon him. The first symptoms were simply that he would "drag" his feet when he walked, but we simply teased him as being lazy. My first concern actually came 7 years ago when I went jogging with him. He seemed to come down hard on his left foot when we ran, and I thought this to be a little abnormal. Of course, the shaking didn't show up until 4 years later, and it was usually only when he would be upset, or extremely cold. When other symptoms began to bother him he finally went to a specialist and was diagnosed with the disease. The most strange thing, however, is that he went though a very stressful year after his diagnosis, and now it seems, even with medication, he "shakes" more than ever, and his flexibility became quite rigid. Although, I must retract that statement a little to say that he has been doing quite well these past 4 months. I am subscribing to this group to keep up on the latest information, yes, but also for moral support. You see, both my mother and myself are trying to stay up with the information about the disease and coming to grips to what it means for the future....but my father refuses to talk about it, or read any literature about it. I think he is afraid...that he is deeply saddened at what his future might hold, and so he refuses to come to grips to what he has. This is indeed the WRONG way to deal with a non-death causing disease, for, from what I understand, but doing the write activities, you can control your body easier. I shall share all my readings with my mother, and of course, make them available to my father (though he won't read them). This group means a lot to me, and I am glad Barbara has set it up. Thank you for reading such a long message! Heidi Hasemann [log in to unmask]