Hello, I've recently joined the group and Barbara has kindly suggested
that I introduce myself. My name is Matt Klompstra, I am an undergraduate
student in civil engineering at the University of Waterloo.
In mid-august my father was diagnosed with PD. He is 48 and
apparently he has had it for about three years and only recently has he
really felt something was wrong. My dad is a big man and owns a construction
firm in Sombra, Ontario (near Sarnia). He is generally a very relaxed
and has always been a bit slow moving and I think the onset of PD went
unnoticed because of this. In august though, my father became quite
depressed, anxious and wasn't comfortable going to work anymore. After a few
visits with the family doctor and then a neurologist, he was diagnosed. Since
then everyone in our family (he has 8 brothers, a sister, 3 kids, and volumes
of neices & nephews) have been feverishly trying to find out more about
this. Right now he is taking daily increasing doses of Prolopa and
visiting a secialist in Sarnia.
Unfortunately, dad is still very depressed. He has always been very
healthy and active, he plays hockey in the winter, and baseball in the
summer. This summer he didn't play baseall because he was having trouble
throwing the ball and getting around the bases and he did not want to drag
down the team. He is also having trouble writing and is slower to
comprehend things. We know that his loss of motor skills are due to
the PD, but we are not sure about the depression. It could be a side effect
of the PD, but our doctor has suggested that he might be going through a
mid-life crisis as well. As it stands, I go home every weekend (I'm in
Waterloo right now) and help out all I can. At home, the rest of my family
tries to keep him happy, but he is not one to accept anyones sympathy.
My mother is having a considerable amount of trouble dealing with the
situation and she is not sure what she should be doing or how she should
be acting. She loves my father very, very much (we ALL do) and she is
having trouble accepting that something might be wrong (though she
doesn't deny it).
I guess I would really like to know what we can do? What can we
expect? What kind of support is there for people like my mother? Can you
recover much from PD? (Can dad play ball again?) Most importantly, how
can we deal with dads depression? I think everyone (including dad) can
accept the fact that he has PD, what we want is for him to feel happier
and better.
I appreciate your time and I look forward to participating with this
group.
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Matt Klompstra | `Canadian Club love, a place in
[log in to unmask] | the country, everyone is ideal'
Sombra, Ontario, Canada | -Roxy Music
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