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Hi I have subscribed to this list, as my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease 2 1/2 years ago. My family had noticed the symptoms a couple of years before, but due to denial on her part, it wasn't officially diagnosed earlier. She refused to tell anybody for about another year after that, although it was obvious something was wrong. Unfortunately I left the country (New Zealand) to live in the US just after her first symptoms appeared. When I came back to visit 18 months later, the disease had progressed a lot. It has now been 2 years since I have been back to visit, and my husband and I are going back for a few weeks in January/February 1997. There are now a lot of issues to deal with - mainly that she is very confused about everything now (I don't know if this is due to drug therapy or the disease itself). She also is having a lot of problems with her gait, and is falling a lot. Again denial is the main problem - we are trying to get my parents (my father is also very disabled post-stroke) to move to a retirement village, where there will be some degree of supervision, but my mother is "not ready", but thinks it is a good idea on some days. When I go back I would like to be of some help to the rest of my family, and I would also like to be prepared socially for what to expect, and how to deal with some of these issues. I am a Medical Librarian, so have all the disease facts, but none of the social aspects. How do we get around the "I am not an invalid" statements? We also have issues with her continuing to drive, forgetting to grocery shop etc. I do have a sister who lives close to them, and another several hours away, so I am not the only one dealing with this. I have never joined a listserv on a personal basis before, so this is a bit of an experiment. Looking forward to participating. ************************ Jane Thomsen Medical Librarian/CME Coordinator, Carson-Tahoe Hospital 775 Fleischmann Way, PO Box 2168 Carson City, Nevada 89702-2168 Ph:(702)885-4358 Fax:(702)883-5063 Email: [log in to unmask] ************************