WELCOME TO OUR PARKINSON'S PLACE!

I HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASES AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THE CONTENTS OF UPDATED NEWS IS FOUND IN ONE PLACE. THAT IS WHY I BEGAN THIS BLOG.

I COPY NEWS ARTICLES PERTAINING TO RESEARCH, NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE, DEMENTIA, THE BRAIN, DEPRESSION AND PARKINSON'S WITH DYSTONIA. I ALSO POST ABOUT FUNDRAISING FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND EVENTS. I TRY TO BE UP-TO-DATE AS POSSIBLE.

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR IT'S CONTENTS. I AM JUST A COPIER OF INFORMATION SEARCHED ON THE COMPUTER. PLEASE UNDERSTAND THE COPIES ARE JUST THAT, COPIES AND AT TIMES, I AM UNABLE TO ENLARGE THE WORDING OR KEEP IT UNIFORMED AS I WISH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND I AM A PERSON WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. I HAVE NO MEDICAL EDUCATION,

I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU WHAT I READ ON THE INTERNET. IT IS UP TO YOU TO DECIDE WHETHER TO READ IT AND TALK IT OVER WITH YOUR DOCTOR. I AM JUST THE COPIER OF DOCUMENTS FROM THE COMPUTER. I DO NOT HAVE PROOF OF FACT OR FICTION OF THE ARTICLE. I ALSO TRY TO PLACE A LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH ARTICLE TO SHOW WHERE I RECEIVED THE INFORMATION SO THAT YOU MAY WANT TO VISIT THEIR SITE.

THIS IS FOR YOU TO READ AND TO ALWAYS KEEP AN OPEN MIND.

PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH YOUR DOCTOR, SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, OR CONCERNS. NEVER DO ANYTHING WITHOUT TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST..

I DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THIS WEBSITE. I VOLUNTEER MY TIME TO HELP ALL OF US TO BE INFORMED.

I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISEMENT OR HEALING POWERS, HEALING FROM HERBS AND ETC. UNLESS IT HAS GONE THROUGH TRIALS AND APPROVED BY FDA. IT WILL GO INTO SPAM.

THIS IS A FREE SITE FOR ALL WITH NO ADVERTISEMENTS

THANK YOU FOR VISITING! TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

TRANSLATE

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

I kept my Parkinson’s secret from my family and friends. I shouldn’t have Geoff Hill

Like a third of people with the disease, I hid my diagnosis. But trying to cover the symptoms only made them worse – and telling people has made life easier
 ‘I didn’t want people to notice that anything was wrong so I just stopped engaging with people if I didn’t have to.’ Photograph: Alamy

April 19, 2016
I was 48 when I was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s. It was 2007 and I was working full time as a geologist. Everything was going really well and I was aiming for a promotion. Already reeling from the diagnosis, the last thing I wanted was for Parkinson’s to interfere with my career or single me out as different – so I hid the disease like 37% of sufferers asked by Parkinson’s UK.
I have three daughters who were doing their exams at the time. I didn’t want to worry them, or my family and friends, so I kept it quiet for the first two to three years. Looking back I was probably in denial about the whole thing.
Although I did tell my wife and, informally, my boss at work, I made it clear that I did not want it to become common knowledge. My symptoms at the time were mild, the most externally obvious was a resting tremor. The only other big symptom for me at the time was losing the ability to type with my left hand – it dragged, giving me inaccuracies all over the place. I covered this in work by saying I had a Repetitive Strain Injury and buying dictation software.
At home I would say my bad neck was due to a trapped nerve, when actually it was Parkinson’s causing the problem. Needless to say over the next few years I became slower and quieter. People started to worry about me because I had become a much more withdrawn person.
I didn’t want people to notice that anything was wrong so I just stopped engaging with people if I didn’t have to. Parkinson’s became the elephant in the room. I thought I was hiding it, but people could see I had changed and they didn’t know why.
 ‘Looking back I should have told my family sooner.’

It was sometimes awkward at work too, people thought I was tired from travelling as part of the job but sometimes I would also have involuntary movements in the office. It felt like a no-win situation – either show your Parkinson’s or become a different person.
My mother picked up on the quietness; she took me to one side and asked me if I had cancer. When I finally told my children, they were angry with me and didn’t understand why I hadn’t said anything sooner. It came to a head at work when a promotion review board said I “lacked presence”. This was not who I was, but it was who I had become because I was trying to hide the fact I had Parkinson’s. I explained this to my manager who was very supportive, and I got the promotion.
Looking back I should have told my family sooner. Trying to cover symptoms can actually make them worse. Even now when I’m with people I know, I can be fine, but walking into a new room with new people, the tremor can kick in. Work was difficult because I didn’t want to be written off because I had what people consider an “old person’s condition”. I did feel that some people’s attitudes changed towards me once they knew.
It definitely felt like a “coming out” when I decided to tell people, it was a transforming time and people’s reactions differed greatly. But having support from loved ones is key when you are trying to get your own head around a diagnosis like Parkinson’s.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/19/parkinsons-disease-diagnosis-symptoms?

No comments:

Post a Comment