April is Parkinson's Awarness Month and I feel a great empathy to the 7-10 million worldwide who suffer with it. My experience with patients of Parkinson's began several years ago. I was asked to talk at a local support group for patients and families about affects of the disease on speech and swallowing. I was so moved by this group that I eventually began volunteering to be their facilitator during the summer months when school was out.
What is Parkinson's, What causes it? and How is it treated?
Parkinson's disease progresses over many years for most sufferers. Most sufferers start noticing a twinge in their fingers or toes, or sometimes differences in their digestion as the first signs. What is happening is that the neurons that produce dopamine in their brain do not produce as much or then stop producing it. Dopamine is a very important neurotransmitter for movement and without it the nerves have trouble sending messages to the muscles. What happens is that muscle movements become erratic and a struggle to control. Patients who have it can have trouble completing every day tasks. Some Patients (but not all) may experience memory problems, altered speech, insomnia, digestive problems and depression. So far treatments do alleviate the symptoms but do not slow the progression of the disease. There is no cure but research continues to be conducted to determine a cause and more effective treatments.
The best resource I have found was the Davis Phinney Foundation located at http://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/. Their mantra is live every day well and to celebrate everyday victories. They offer several free webinars to help to educate sufferers about treatment, ways to stay positive, and research that is being conducted. They also host a victory summit every year for patients and their families to attend and celebrate the victory of living everyday.
Here are other resources that you may also find helpful:
http://www.pdf.org/en/parkinson_statistics
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/keeping-parkinsons-disease-a-secret/
https://www.michaeljfox.org
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