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Ms. Short Term Memory by Carol McLeod (pwnkle)
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The past couple of years have taught me a lot. I learned, for instance, how to survive. For me that means staying in the present. I don’t mean plodding through each day, waiting for it to be over. I do mean being fully invested in what I experience each day. This serendipitous enlightenment made the cliché “one day at a time” actually meaningful to me.
The concussion I received in a car accident two years ago makes ‘one day at a time’ easy because it made my memory deficit worse. Every day is like a fresh start. I have to find the things I put away the day before. I’ve learned to put things away in a logical place so I don’t spend too much time hunting them down. I just go to the most likely place I would put if I were putting it away now. Of course if it isn’t there I won’t find it for months … or years.
I know many other people with Parkinson’s who have problems with their memory. I know a lot of people with Parkinson’s who say they can’t focus their attention anymore. Some can’t tell left from right. Many can’t untangle words and trip over what they’re trying to say. I remember once telling a family member “laugh later, not now. It’s too frustrating”
More than a few of us are having problems with addictive behavior. Then there are the panic attacks which we are never prepared for because no one told us about them (unless we were lucky enough to find an experienced PWP to clue us in).
Anyone notice a pattern? These all seem to be a result of having Parkinson’s but they’re hard to quantify and as far as I can see they aren’t being addressed or taken seriously. Some neurologists will treat these symptoms once they are told about them by their patient but not all doctors even agree that Parkinson’s can cause these things.
I was once told by a neurologist “I don’t do voodoo”. So, anyone know a good witch doctor?
I think we patients should expect our doctors to be aware of the mind as well as the brain. You may progress quickly, you may not, but you can have a life in the meantime.
Carol Mcleod (pwnkle)
