Meeting Dad with PD from Davis Phinney's Daughter

Thanks to my local support group leader, Zack Earp, I ran across an excellent article about meeting someone with Parkinson's.  In "Preparing People to Meet Someone with Parkinson's," Davis Phinney's daughter highlights some important visual symptoms to understand.  Kelsey Phinney explains that in addition to the expected tremors that a majority of patients display, though not all PD sufferers have tremors, there are facial expression, balance, stiffness, and communication issues to be aware of.  Kelsey is a neuroscience graduate who wants to help the broader community understand that by preparing people to meet a Parkinson's patient, they may be able to get past some of the visual distractions and see the individual as more than their brain disease outcomes.

It is important to understand that ideas may not be as fast to emerge in a conversation, though your friend or loved one with PD may have some great stories to tell as an individual who once possessed a very expressive personality.  The facial mask and delay in getting words to be formed in a discernible syntax are issues that may put off they listener, therefore it is worth knowing what to expect in order to appreciate that the Parkinson's patient is not defined by their disease, but is the person inside the body struggling with odd-looking movements or lack of facial expression.

My final point is that in addition to physical movements, postures of limbs and facial expressions, there are bodily functions of digestion, heart rate, swallowing, breathing and urinary systems, to name several, but not all of the issues.  These additional symptoms are autonomic in nature and  would generally be found in this degenerative brain disease.

Some days are better than others, but I appreciate the points Kelsey has made,  if you take a few moments to read this article it will equip you with some great suggestions in preparing distant relatives and/or friends to meet your loved one with Parkinson's or a Parkinsonism-plus condition such as mine.  -- Patient-Online