- WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I
WAS GREAT AT PRINTING, LIKE AN ARCHITECT. OVER TIME, IT WAS BECOMING
HARDER AND HARDER. THEN IT GOT TO THE COMPUTER,
THE COMPUTER MOUSE, AND TYPING. I USED TO TYPE ABOUT 180 WORDS
A MINUTE, AND IT JUST GOT WORSE AND WORSE. AND I WAS ALWAYS VERY
ORGANIZED, AND I WAS VERY THOROUGH AND DETAILED,
AND IT CHANGED. WHO I WAS AS A
PERSON WAS CHANGING. I KNEW THAT THERE
WAS SOMETHING WRONG. - PARKINSON'S DISEASE IS A
CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS, SO THERE'S REALLY NO ABSOLUTE TEST
THAT ABSOLUTELY DEFINES IT. IT'S NOT LIKE DIABETES,
WHERE WE HAVE A BLOOD TEST, OR LIKE A STROKE, WHERE WE
CAN JUST TAKE A PICTURE OF THE BRAIN. IT'S REALLY A CLINICAL
DIAGNOSIS, WHICH MEANS THAT WE LISTEN TO THE SIGNS AND
SYMPTOMS THAT ARE DESCRIBED BY THE PATIENT. WE ALSO DO A PHYSICAL EXAM. THE CLASSIC SYMPTOMS THAT WE
TEACH OUR MEDICAL STUDENTS ABOUT, THEY ACTUALLY
SPELL THE WORD "TRAP." T-R-A-P. "T" STANDS FOR TREMOR, SO THE
TREMOR IS USUALLY ON ONE SIDE, A TREMOR IN ONE HAND OR ONE
LEG, AND IT'S USUALLY AT REST. "R" STANDS FOR RIGIDITY,
WHICH MEANS THAT PATIENTS HAVE INCREASED TONE THAT WE
CAN MEASURE ON THE EXAM. "A" STANDS FOR AKINESIA,
OR LACK OF MOVEMENT, AND PATIENTS WILL
COMPLAIN OF SLOWNESS, THAT THEY'VE SLOWED DOWN. AND THEN "P" STANDS FOR
POSTURAL INSTABILITY, AND THAT CAN BE A LATER FINDING,
USUALLY, IN CLASSIC PARKINSON'S DISEASE, WHERE
PATIENTS WILL HAVE FALLS, THEY'LL HAVE BALANCE ISSUES,
AND THEY'LL START TO SORT OF LOSE THEIR BALANCE
WHILE THEY'RE WALKING. - AT FIRST, IT HAPPENS
ONCE IN A WHILE. WITH THE HAND MOTION AND
THE SHAKING, THAT BECAME A STANDARD. BUT THE WRITING,
THE ORGANIZATION, AND THE LITTLE CONFUSION
AND GETTING FUZZY ABOUT THINGS, IT
WAS INTERMITTENT. I FIGURED EVERYBODY HAS THAT. - WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO
START OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT. SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO
EMPHASIZE THINGS LIKE SLEEP, SO GETTING A GOOD
NIGHTS SLEEP EVERY NIGHT. WE TRY TO EMPHASIZE ABOUT 8
HOURS AT THE VERY LEAST IF POSSIBLE AND NOT
NAPPING IN THE DAY. ADDITIONALLY, WE THINK
THAT EXERCISE IS VERY KEY. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT AN
OVERNIGHT CHANGE FROM BEING SEDENTARY TO RUNNING A
MARATHON, BUT SETTING GOALS AND TRYING TO KEEP WITHIN
THOSE GOALS IS VERY IMPORTANT. AND THEN EATING WELL,
KEEPING OTHERWISE HEALTHY. WE REALLY EMPHASIZE THE FACT
THAT PATIENTS LIVE NEAR-NORMAL LIFE SPANS WITH THIS DISEASE
SO WE WANT TO KEEP ALL THE OTHER BODY SYSTEMS WORKING,
KEEP OUR STROKE RISK DOWN, CARDIAC RISK FACTORS DOWN,
SO EATING RIGHT AND BEING HEALTHY. IT'S ABSOLUTELY
IMPORTANT TO GET EDUCATED. THAT'S OUR GOAL, IS TO
GET PATIENTS READING ABOUT THE DISEASE, GETTING
LINKED UP WITH SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE A LOT
OF GOOD MATERIAL TO READ. - NOW I'M DOING ALL THE
RESEARCH THAT I CAN, GOING TO A SUPPORT GROUP. I WANT TO TALK TO SOME HUMAN
BEINGS THAT KNOW AND ARE LIVING IT. - I THINK THAT HAVING A
GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN IS VERY IMPORTANT AS
WELL, AND BEING ABLE TO OPEN UP AND BE HONEST--I FIND SOME
PATIENTS REALLY MINIMIZE THEIR SYMPTOMS AND TRY TO TELL THEIR
DOCTOR THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING AND THAT THEY'RE
REALLY FINE WHEN THEY REALLY AREN'T. - GET A DOCTOR THAT YOU REALLY
TRUST, AND TALK TO THEM. TALK TO THEM ABOUT
YOUR ANXIETIES. GET THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU
THAT YOU LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU SO THAT NONE OF
YOU WILL PANIC. INFORM YOUR FAMILY. LET THEM KNOW THAT IT CAN BE A
TO Z AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SO BAD WITH A LITTLE SUPPORT
FROM YOUR FAMILY, YOU KNOW? SO THEY'LL DO SOME OF THE
CUTTING IN THE KITCHEN, AND YOU'LL SAVE YOUR FINGERS. - WE WOULD ENCOURAGE VETS
WHO ARE NEWLY DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S TO SEEK OUT
THE SUB SPECIALTY CARE THAT IS AVAILABLE AT THE VA BECAUSE
IT IS A REALLY NICE GROUP OF DOCTORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
AND WE'RE CONSTANTLY INVOLVED IN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AND
REALLY FEEL THAT OUR EXPERTISE SHOULD BE SHARED
THROUGHOUT THE VA POPULATION. WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE
THAT WITH OUR VETS. - ONE THING I'VE LEARNED
THROUGH MY PAST RELATIONSHIPS IS THAT I ALWAYS TRY TO
TAKE CARE OF MY MATE. WHAT I'VE LEARNED NOW THAT
I HAVE PARKINSON'S IS THAT I HAVE TO MAKE
MYSELF THE PRIORITY. IF I DON'T TAKE CARE OF
MYSELF, I CAN'T REALLY TAKE CARE OF SOMEONE ELSE. - TO MANY PATIENTS, IT IS
A DISEASE THAT COMES WITH A STIGMA, AND IT
CAN BE QUITE A LIFE-CHANGING DIAGNOSIS. SO THE MAIN THING THAT WE WANT
TO CONVEY TO OUR PATIENTS IS THAT IT'S A VERY
TREATABLE DIAGNOSIS. IT'S REALLY ABOUT INSTILLING
A POSITIVE ATTITUDE FROM THE GET-GO, AND THESE
LIFESTYLE CHANGES ARE KEY. PROBABLY BETTER THAN ANY
MEDICINE OUT THERE IS A SET GOOD EXERCISE REGIMEN AND GOOD
SLEEP, GOOD DIET, AND KEEPING A VERY POSITIVE ATTITUDE. SO, ESPECIALLY AT THESE EARLY
STAGES, WE REALLY EMPHASIZE POSITIVE ATTITUDE, EDUCATION,
AND EXERCISE ARE SUPER KEY. - I'M GONNA LIVE
EVERY DAY TO THE FULLEST. I DON'T KNOW
WHEN IT'S GONNA END. I'M GONNA ENJOY MY LIFE.
I'M GONNA GO CAMPING. I'M GONNA TRAVEL. I'M GONNA DO WHATEVER
MAKES ME HAPPY. I'M JUST GONNA MAKE THE
BEST OUT OF EVERY DAY. THAT'S THE MOST
IMPORTANT THING TO ME.
