 |
 |
Hi all, Since December I've been helping my mother take care of my stepfather with PD. He has REALLY gone down hill in the last year, let alone the last month. 5 years ago he was working and more or less asymptomatic. 10 months ago he got a cane, 8 months ago he got a walker, 4 months ago he got a wheelchair, and now he can't perform any of the 5 activities of Daily Living. When he's doing well he can feed himself...for a little while. What is this stage called? end stage? Where are we in the stages of Parkinsons? We know it is going very fast, but realize we don't know very much about how this terrible disease ends. Should I call his daughter in Europe who plans to come see him in December? We've been successfully fending off pneumonias from swallowing problems, still combatting urinary infections, and dementia. Transfers have become very difficult for him. He can barely stand while we reposition ourselves to complete the transfer. Sometimes he goes into a strange mode during the exertion of a transfer: he gets glassy eyed and stares into nowhere...can't hear us or remember during that time. We usually seat him quickly and wait for it to pass...it takes about 1 to 5 minutes. Is anyone familiar with this? It's been going on for about a month. Tonight was kind of scary. He was doing well and we went out to eat. We took a bus with a lift so no transfers were necessary. He ate pretty well but 4 or 5 times during dinner he would grab the table with all his might and grit his teeth. I thought it resembled someone grabbing something to steady themself when dizzy, but maybe it was pain, maybe it was a different kind of tremor. We asked him but wasn't able to get much response as to what was going on. Even afterwards. The scariest part to me was once when I asked what he was feeling, what was he experiencing....he said "Light" or "Life"....we're still not sure. anyone familiar with this kind of reaction? Is it a tremor? Is there anything we can do to help him during it? Anyways, Thanks for listening...and please be frank on where we are with this and what to expect. Lorrie step-daughter/PT caregiver to Gerald 78 yrs/ 71 at diagnoses