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Hello friends I've just joined this list and at Barbara Patterson's suggestion (thank you Barbara) I'm writing to introduce myself. My interst in the list is because my mother, aged 77, has just been diagnosed as having "a mild case" of Parkinson's, and I found I had no idea what is ahead of us. She says her doctor is reassuring and says she will improve on medication, but my trawl around the Net suggests the medication will basically control her symptoms rather than her condition. She is an academic, still actively researching, though she has been set back this year by a perforated bowel (small cancerous ulcer) which meant a week in intensive care and a colostomy. I work full-time, have 3 children (19, 17, 13); my sister lives fairly nearby (two younger children and a part-time job); both of us are around to help but not full-time. I'd like to know what's ahead of my mother, and how I can be of most use to her; I also have a personal interest in finding out how hereditary this condition is! I have picked up that there is a new medication which is said to be very promising in controlling the condition, not just the symptoms. I haven't talked with my mother's family doctor yet. He has been extremely careful and caring with my mother (eg this diagnosis was the result of him sending her to a neurologist, even though she was seen by a physician while she was in hospital 2 months ago who confidently assured us and presumably him that she did not have Parkinson's). I am wondering whether it would be a good idea to make contact with him direct. I'm looking forward to hearing about other people's experiences regards Kate