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1

Hi everyone.
Not sure if there are many children on here of parents with PD but I am a 43 yr old daughter of a PD sufferer.
My Dad is currently 75 & was diagnosed almost 14 yrs ago at age 62
He had what I now know to be the all too common left hand tremor.
He has dealt with this damn disease with such a strong & determined way & the tremor isn’t much worse but now we have the dementia kicking in.
Some of you will know how heart breaking this is.
My poor mum. They’ve been married for 52 years but he is now not the man she’s been married to & he’s not my Dad anymore either.

She is being so strong but it must be slowly destroying her.
He doesn’t want to admit or face up to the dementia but it’s coming on rapidly.

Some days I think it would be easier if he just lost it completely because this transition phase is so difficult to navigate.
He shouldn’t be driving…but he is, because he won’t tell his Professor the truth!
He is getting to the stage where my Mum can’t leave him
Which will drive her insane (as much as she loves him)

I wish I could type ‘will this get better’ but of course…I know the answer
And it breaks my heart to even try to anticipate what we have yet to face…

Thanks for reading…

2

Hi @PD3 and welcome to the forum!

I am really sorry that you are all having to deal with your father’s dementia as well as with his Parkinson’s. I’m sure lots of forum members will relate to your experience and hopefully they can help, even if it’s just by supporting you at this difficult transition time.

I am quite concerned about your father driving when he shouldn’t and would urge you to call our helpline to find a way of keeping him and others safe on the road. Please call our free and confidential helpline on 0808 800 0303 to talk to one of our advisers about this. Of course, you can also chat to them about what you are going through and they can give you advice, information and support.

Please keep us posted of how things are going.

Best wishes,
Mara
(Moderation Team)

3

Hi PD3
so sorry to hear what is happening in your family. Your Mum will be very glad of your support as things progress, and you will still have each other, even though your Dad will seem to be out of the picture.

good luck with what lies ahead.
yours

audrey