Hello. Thank you Barbara Patterson for providing this nice service and for
welcoming me to the list.
I am a graduate student in water resource ecology. I am interested in this
list because my mother (age 70) was diagnosed with Parkinson's a few weeks ago.
The unusual thing about this event is that my father was diagnosed with PD
about 5 years ago (he'll be 76 tomorrow). So, now both of my parents have PD
and I am especially interested in knowing the cause(s) of this enigmatic
syndrome. I find the many proposed environmental causes to be interesting,
but I they all seem equally plausible or implausible. I'm not ready to
rule out the existence of a genetic predispostion within families either.
I guess the safe assumption, at this point, is that the cause is some
combination of genetic and environmental factors. I also understand that
there could be many causes of parkinsonism (the general symptoms).
As a result of my mother being diagnosed recently, I am now doubly interested
in learning more about how people with PD have coped, and how family members
have coped. I am currently reading "Living Well With Parkinson's" by Atwood.
(Can't recall her name) I find her book to be very informative and optimistic.
I look forward to participating in this list. Good luck to all.
Dan Dettweiler
3700 E Gull Lake Dr
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
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