by Patsy Page

Created on: July 13, 2008

My husband has early on-set Parkinson's Disease. It happened so quickly, but yet so slowly. We never knew what hit us until we had gone to doctor after doctor looking for an answer to questions that we could not even form. We did not have a clue. We thought maybe Lymes Disease, Arthritis, anything but a Family Doctor could not give the right answer because the symptoms did not match the age.

All the time we were searching for an answer, the symptoms were getting worse. Worse enough that even I was starting to know what the answer was. We had the Bedroom Slipper Shuffle. We had the Facial Mask. The Mask actually can look like a Bulldog jaw.
When we were finally given the diagnosis, there is a relief, but then there is the fear of the unknown.

The worst to come was the fact that he could not work anymore. His employer tried to find many different jobs for him, but to no avail. He had to seek a early retirement and social security disability. We were one of the lucky ones. He had a retirement for us to live on.

My husbands Parkinson's Disease came on to him while he was in his fifties. He decided to research the whys that a man would get it in an early age. What I didn't know was that he was to spend the whole next year researching Agent Orange and its relation to Parkinson's Disease.

I was frustrated. We hardly talked, he hardly came out of the room with the computer. He was up at 4:00AM and did not go to bed until midnight. He researched and researched. He built a data base of many other early onset Parkinsons Disease Victims and found that most of them had been in Viet Nam all at about the same time, and all had been exposed to Agent Orange.

Now the battle began with all of them fighting the Veterans Administration for their Veterans Benefits due them because of Agent Orange exposure.

You ask how does this effect me, the spouse. I have lost my husband to the telephone, cell phone, computer, fax, printer. He is on a mission to win this for all Veterans who have been exposed. I have been speaking with so many Congressman's Office, my head swims. But they are winning! The Bill to put Parkinson's Disease on the Presumptive list of Diseases caused by Agent Orange is in the House of Represenitives right now. HR# 6032. I am proud, that my husband and two other victims did this for other veterans.

Now I can maybe just go back to being a normal spouse of a man with Parkinson's Disease. That means helping him get dressed. Reminding him to take his medicines all the time. Making sure he eats good healthy meals. He need to take naps every day. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT ONE. I do most of the driving, because he tires very easy. I do most of the writing of anything that need to be done because a man with Parkinson's Disease, their writing becomes small illegiable.Be

Their voices become very soft and hard to hear. I am constantly asking him to repeat himself.

Later on we need to watch while they are eating because they can choke on food and die.

His balance is off, and he falls a lot. I have a bad back and I have to be very careful helping him up.

I love him, but I fail him. I need to be a better caregiver and I am trying, but it is hard.

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