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On 05/03/98 Marvin Giles wrote: > >I read with growing fear about the idea that Parkinsons >was going to change me from the lovable, friendly person that >I am to a raving, self-centered, blank faced husk that nobody >in their right mind would want to have anything to do with. > Marvin and All: Well into our 53rd year of marriage, and our 13th post-diagnosis year with my husband's PD, I can report that his personality has not changed to any significant extent beyond what increasing maturity normally brings. I'm not sure, however, that these last few years of increasing caregiving responsibilities haven't changed mine a bit in the wrong direction. While my husband tends to keep his problems to himself rather than to be a "nuisance", my philsophy is to get my frustrations out in the open with some degree of emotion and heat. It seems, as your wife observed, Marvin, the personality we started with tends to become more exaggerated as PD progresses. None of that applies, however, when the PD burden includes the sadness of dementia and the increasing loss of the original personality. So even on the bad days, I am very grateful that the essence of the man I married in 1944 is still there, even though his body cycles through the days sometimes functioning, sometimes wildly flailing about, and sometimes frozen and unable to move without my help. I've learned that it takes a person with great strength of character and considerable bravery to endure PD gracefully. It seems to me that describes most of the folks here online. Martha Rohrer (CG for Neal, 78/13) [log in to unmask]