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Teresa V.B. wrote: > My mother has excruciating pain in the neck and head during OFF times. Her > worst symptom is rigidity and it manifests itself all over but most severely > in the neck and head. Even when she is ON she has a constant dull ache in > her head. > Barbara has taken all the fun of Care Giving! She too had been complaining of very painful sore in the right side of the neck aggravated when masticating. With her high sensitivity to pain, neither two Ibuprofen tablets nor acetaminophen (Tylenol) provided relief. The emotional pain could be barely alleviated with good ice cream, so Wednesday evening soon after taking the last regular Sinemet 25/100 of the day, allowing 30 minutes, she ambled to the kitchen, took the Ben and Jerry and started to scoop it out, but as she dug hard and scooped up, retropulsion took over. She flew backward with her head colliding with the floor with a loud scream that could not match the sound of the impact. I ran from the 'puter room and she was writhing in pain holding her neck and head with marked dyskinesia. I called security of Greenspring Village, the retired community, and three men came within two minutes with aid kits. They did not want to risk any further damage so they called 911 and four men and one woman of the rescue squad arrived within minutes with the ambulance. They put a brace around her neck, tied her to a board and a litter and took her to the local hospital around 11 PM. I followed a few minutes later after I called my daughter Leah to let her know because she was angry last time her mother was shipped to the hospital. When I arrived at the emergency desk, Leah was waiting and then we both waited and waited to hear something, until the pill timer sounded med time for the Sinemet CR 50/200. We convinced the guard to let us in and offer the med, but the nurse did not allow it until the doctor ok'ed it. About an hour later, she was released from the neck yoke and allowed her medications. Well, after a series of X-rays and a cat scan, Barbara was declared fit to go home, no fractures, no serious concussions. We returned home around 04:30 AM, washed up and retired. The following day, I was taking the second half of a 55/alive class from AARP to secure a certificate that would reduce my car insurance. I was fortunate that very little was missed in that class during my snoozes. We had notified our primary doc and our neuro who were on call, but only the neuro's office called back to make an appointment with our highly esteemed Dr. Linda Sigmund whose clientele is likely over 90% PD. She strongly admonished to take her wheels (cart) wherever she goes even in the apartment. So, the same evening, after being careful the whole day, pushing her wheels by the table into the dining room with no problems. Then, as she was ready for bed, she took her robe and spread it high in the air onto the bed as she took another backward leap ending with her head hitting the corner of the night stand and the dresser. The only damage this time, was a cut on the ear lobe and a bruised ego. As a former medic, I remembered how to clean and dress minor wounds. The big wounds of sharing a miserable disease is no joy. I should not complain, Leah came to visit in the after to attend her mother and was later joined by her husband to have dinner together at a local Japanese restaurant where the cook performed with the utensils. 'Carpe Diem' under duress can still be a pleasure if we don't take life too seriously. Wow! I had not intended to write a pamphlet, but just a 'typical' page of our history. Michel Margosis