In July 2021 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease; I was 68 years old.
It wasn’t a surprise, in fact, it was a relief. It helped explain all of the physical things that had been going wrong over the last several years. The hoarse voice was the first indication. Over the past 2 or three years, whenever I spoke with people, my voice would catch, sound scratchy and invariably, someone would say, “are you okay?” And, of course, I was okay, “my voice was just changing as I aged” and it didn’t cause me any discomfort. I thought it was just part of aging. When I mentioned it to my PCP, he didn’t feel it was cause for worry.
Over the next year or so, I noticed my penmanship deteriorate and get smaller and more cramped; even harder to read. I had always prided myself on my cursive and printing hand–my mother insisted on the Palmer Method and I emulated her flowing hand-writing. To witness it’s decline was disturbing, but how do you codify that? It didn’t ‘hurt’ anywhere. I didn’t tell my PCP that my handwriting was getting worse, why would I?
The dizziness was another matter. I had had an ablation in 2014 to stabilize my atrial fibrillation, my blood pressure was relatively stable, although on the low side, I was on a blood thinner. I tried to sit up slowly, stand up slowly, hold steady for a few seconds before moving in order to alleviate the dizziness, but nothing seemed to help. My cardiologist and my PCP were confident that I was okay. But waves of dizziness would still catch me off-guard and oftentimes for no apparent reason. I began shuffling when walking instead of striding with confidence.
Working from home during the pandemic, I noticed that my posture was not as straight as it used to be and my partner, Michael, thought my face looked ‘angry’ and unmoving. It didn’t hurt, so why would I bring it up to my PCP? Then I started choking while trying to swallow–that’s scary. It was so bad that a couple of times I thought it might kill me. I made an appointment with my GI specialist for an endsocopy — results came back negative — no obstructions, nothing out of the ordinary. This I did discuss with my PCP.
Michael and I made a list of the little things that seemed to be going wrong with me. He went online and seconds later came back with a similar list of ailments and problems that were all signs of Parkinson’s. My PCP finally said I should see a neurologist as they had exhausted their avenues of inquiry. I was referred to a neurologist that specialized in neuro-motor functions and specifically worked with Parkinson’s patients. I was anxious waiting to see him, worried what a diagnosis of Parkinson’s would mean to my future.
The neurologist came to the waiting room and called my name, studying me as I rose and walked toward him. He led me to his office and asked why I was there. I pulled out my list of symptoms and handed it to him. Before looking at the list, he said, “You have Parkinson’s. I could tell when you walked toward me just now in the waiting room.”
Well, at least what was happening to me had a name, in a way, that made it a little easier to comprehend all of things that had been happening to me over the last few years. The neurologist explained to me that many people with Parkinson’s go undiagnosed for many years because the physical issues all seem so random.
He prescribed Sinemet and days later, my symptoms lessened. He’s had me going to physical therapy–there are exercises designed specifically for Parkinson’s patients that help manage the neural deterioration associated with the disease.
More on this journey to come…
Robert Patrick 