Monday, July 7, 2008

Is it Parkinson's or MSA or SDS?

If you are reading this blog, I can only assume that you, too, are wondering about your own, or your loved one's, disease/syndrome. Dennis and I no longer expect any real answers from doctors or websites. They simply don't seem to exist.

A bit over four years ago, Dennis was diagnosed with Parkinson's. He had begun having touble with his serve and return during his tennis game. One of his legs was didn't seem to work right and his hands were beginning to show signs of tremors. After several visits to a nuerologist, it was finally determined that he did, indeed, have Parkinson's.

Now, since this blog is not about the past, but the present, I will not bore you with stories of how fast his Parkinson's seemed to be progressing. I will tell you, however, that he did qualify for social security disability within three years of his diagnosis and that says quite alot.

Last month, Dennis ended up in the hospital for a week and that was followed by two weeks of rehab in a care facility. He had started passing out on a regular basis. I have a great story about why I finally dialed 911, but I will save that for another time. Suffice it to say that he was given a new diagnosis, after leaving the nursing home, of either Shy-Drager or Multiple System Atrophy or possibly Parkinson's Plus. Or maybe something else. Sigh.

So, we decided, together, that we would write about our experience from this day forward. And here we are. Ann and Dennis. A 55 year old woman and a 60 year old man. With a syndrom or a disease that we share together.

We look forward to sharing our stories with you.

Until tommorow,
Ann and Dennis

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