When it rains, it pours. As I've mentioned before, my 69 year old
father has Parkinson's. Two sisters-in-law have fathers who have Parkinson's
(one recently diagnosed, the other in the "last" stages). Now, those two men
aren't, of course, blood relatives of my father. However, I learned
something yesterday. My father's nearly 85 year old brother has Parkinsons.
My uncle had fallen a few days ago, and broke his hip. He had to undergo
surgery for the hip, and the doctors felt that--with the combination of
cancer and Parkinson's and other things--he was lucky to make it through
that. One of the nurses in this hospital isn't really knowledgable about
Parkinson's...she said, "Oh, he's got Altzheimers." I didn't say anything,
but inside I was really angry. My aunt had told me yesterday that he indeed
had been diagnosed with PD. Hey, he does know who everyone is...the only
reason he didn't (I think) for awhile before the surgery was because of the
strong painkillers he had. They make anyone loopy. Anyway, I think I said,
"No, he has Parkinsons" and left it at that. I think some of these people
need to learn more about what PD is all about. Anyway, I saw my uncle, and
was surprised at just how frail he is. He isn't expected to last much
longer, and in some ways, though I'll miss him horribly, I know he's in pain
and wish that he'd let go.
Now, to my question. What kinds of findings has PD research come up
with regarding heredity for Parkinson's? Since I have this on digest, I'd
appreciate a copy of your answers to my email. Thanks so much!
Tamara D. H. Syron
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