My mother

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1

I have just returned from my Mothers,she lives a couple of hundred yds away in the home I was brought up in Mam and Dad moved into a brand new home built by the local authority 63yrs ago , they were previously in a colliery terrace with no indoor toilet no running water no electric but very efficent air conditioning winter and summer otherwise known as draughts, I was born there , the only help she had on that day was a neighbour and the only midwife within 25mls who luckily was visiting someone else in the street at the time 63 yrs later here I am, not running 100% fit but still going.  While talking to Mam I asked if anyone else in the family had PD and it turns out that my Grandad and three uncles had medium to severe tremor  along with an Aunt who used to freeze for long periods, mother thankfully escaped and apart from aches and pains is going strong at 95 she is as tough as old boots and still drives although I wish she wouldnt she just wont give up that independance . My Dad passed away after a long illness almost two years ago and is sadly missed and while we were chatting I was reminded that it was Mam who was the boss the Matriach in our family ,it was always Mam who made the important decisions and kept us in line I have a older brother and sister , unfortunately sis is showing all the symptoms of PD but wont talk about it I think what she has witnessed with her younger brother fills her with dread and she just wont go there.

So  here I am 63 a wife two daughters five grandchildren , and I wonder what lies ahead for them If I had known 40 yrs ago the threat of PD was looming would I have brought my children into the world with the possibility they might inherit this horrible disease, they do have all the symptoms of Nail Patella Syndrome which I have ,I also have PD Prostrate Cancer severe Tinnitus  plus assorted aches and pains collected in the Hostile enviorment of the heavy construction industry ,would I do it all again Yes of course I would for despite the horrors endured my family are the most precious thing for which I would not exchange for the whole world, my Mams very words as I set off down the street ,and she knows the true value of family.

                                              Kindest Regards   Fedex

2

Hi Fed

I read your post with interest i to have asked myself the very same question and now fear for my childrens future

I was diagnosed with PD in August aged 47  after my diagnosis i spoke to my mother who was experiencing the same symptoms as me only hers were more severe than mine , i  advised my mother to go to her doctor and  she was diagnosed with Pd in September  , my maternal grandfather suffered with Dementia  .

I have two sons and a daughter and now wonder what the risks are of any of my children going on to develop PD in the future .

 

 

3

Hi Fed,

I replied to you yesterday on a different issue. Its persisting down today so I thought I'd pass some time on here. Several things which were not in your other post have intrigued me.

I was told PD is not hereditary. Yet my Father had it and I feel this could be a false statement. I know they are looking into this scenario. I just hope they come up with a cure before my children, and grandchildren, grow up to find it is hereditary.

You also mention your work. I sometimes wonder if the work contributes to our PD condition. I know it certainly contributes to a lot of other issues, R.S.I.  and growing old before your time, to mention but two. Like you I am 63, but with overtime I must be 105. I personally think my work may have been an issue. Like you I don't regret doing it. I do object to being treated like a number by D.W.P after working so hard though.

When David Cameron......(he with the face as shinny as a rag mans trumpet, you may deduce from this I do not like the man or his politics) put the retirement age up, he forgot one very important thing, we who provide the infrastructure and physically work for a living, age far worse than clerical workers. Come the future I see far more people suffering due to making them work longer in highly physical jobs.

Enough of the doom and gloom......

 

I look towards a blackening sky,

'Tis then I see the reason why,

I should hibernate till spring comes round,

Like the bears have always found.

 

I could go to sleep as summer closes,

And wake up in a ring of posies,

No more winter, no more frost,

No more worrying what gas will cost.

 

Think.......I would save on food, I would save on bills and to boot I'd loose weight, which would impress my doctor.

I had to laugh the other day.....he weighed me and declared I was grossly obese. I am almost 6 ft tall and 16 st. I do have a bit of a beer belly I admit (relaxed muscle in my view). He is about 5 ft 4 ins and looks about the same weight. Pot / kettle springs to mind.

I saw the dietician anyway. She was about 25 st., maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I wouldn't have liked to wrestle her. I came away thinking, we are what we are, and decided not to worry about it too much. A vanilla slice soon put paid to my concerns. Have I ever mentioned the benefits of vanilla slices?

Next week I start on liquorice tea. I wait to see if this has any effect. I hope the effects are not as violent as eating liquorice when I was a kid. If it is, I am investing in some incontinent pants and never again breaking wind.

Orphy......smile and the world smiles with you.....cry and the bank manager looks worried.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

Hi Well I don't know who told you that PD is not hereditary. I am telling you it most definately is. Ii nherited PD from my Grandmother and 40 yeas on I still cope reasonably well with it considering. I have several off days. But It is a part of me and i am 1000 percent that It is definately inherited because I was diagnosed by Sir Richard B. Godwin- Austen in Nottingham and he was certain had inherited it And his examination  of me lasted over one hour ! And He was one of the best Neurologists in the business. I would never doubt his word. So take it from me Parkinsons can definately Be inherited. I am living proof!

5

Hi

I've read that on current data about 10% of PD cases have a known genetic cause and the other 90% are likely to show many small genetic factors mixed with the environment (in an unknown way) to cause PD.

Fed, in no way does anyone choose what genes they give their children (we inherit 50% from Mother and 50% from Father and this is essentially random). Did you choose whether your children had 2 or 3 eyes? You didn't choose whether they might get PD or any other disease either. It is not your fault. Of course any person would want the best for their family and want them to live a healthy life but no one has that level of control (apparently neither does God!). I suppose its a choice between of the POSSIBILITY (not certainty) of your children getting symptoms after 40 years of life (early onset PD) or 65 years of life (late onset PD) or no existence at all. I would prefer the chance to live a life and do something good for as long as I live (no one knows when we shuffle off this mortal coil) even if that life is blighted by PD.

That's my view whatever it is worth

dr j

6

In all honesty I can't remember who told me, but you confirm what I suspected. It wasn't when I was diagnosed it was after that.

7

 My mother and myself both have PD yes it can be inherited

8

Hi Shelly,

It would seem the evidence is overwhelming. One of the scariest aspects I have seen was my Father, who was a big strong man.....(and this is no lie or exaggeration.......he worked for 50 years without a day off sick) reduced to a shambles by this horrible disease. He didn't die from it obviously, but he only lasted two years after his retirement before stomach cancer got him. Not the golden sunset the pension firms put out.

This is why I live one day at a time......each day is a gift, which is why we call it the present.

I am having trouble sleeping tonight. Thank goodness for this site. I'll have a brew and do this for a while then try again later. I have had a couple of hours. I will run some of my imaginary scenarios to soothe my mind later.

Orphy