A Quick Recap of How We Got Here.
My mother started to show symptoms in late 2008. The most notable was when she fell backwards down the stairs and put a hole through the wall at the bottom. I don't know how she didn't break something. She probably had symptoms before that but she was caring for my father with possibly the same disease (this is a story in itself). We were so focused on Dad, and Mom tried to hide it as long as she could. Dad pasted away in October of 2008. Sometimes I believe his death accelerated her illness. They were true soul mates and she was and still is heartbroken without him.
Throughout 2009, Mom's vertigo continued to get worse. Doctors kept checking her ears and doing cat scans. She had test after test. Always the same answers. We don't know. I remember mom saying "They aren't going to figure it out just like your Dad."
For almost a year and a half no one could figure out what was wrong. We heard the word Parkinsonism a lot. After more doctors appointments and specialists than I can count she was finally diagnosed with PSP in April 2010.
As the PSP progressed we moved her into a single level home in early 2010. The house she and dad had lived in for over 35 years was a multilevel house with stairs, and the stairs were just too dangerous. She only got to live in the new house for about 6 months and the doctors told her she could no longer live alone. She now had serious balance issues, and had lost a lot of her vision.
So my wife and I converted our living room into a bedroom, and decided to have a living space built onto the back of our house for Mom. In the fall of 2010 mom moved into the new space. It gives her a lot of room and everything is handicap accessible. That's were we are now.
Currently she has the following symptoms: vertigo with severe retropulsion, impaired vision (her eyes are almost fixed straight without the ability to look up or down), dysphagia (She has a difficult time swallowing liquids and coughs frequently), she also has difficulty speaking load and clear. She has also started to show signs of dementia and diminished cognitive abilities.
This story is almost like mine. I was miss- diagnosed w/ PD IN 2011 we had taken mmy husband to his neurologist , and she noticed my walk so ordered a brain scan. She didn't read the scan properly , but it showed PSP IN 2014 I WENT TO A NEUROLOGIST that hit the nail on the head before she showed us on the scan she diagnose it correctly my husband past away on 08-08-13 i miss him every day.. I am able to live in our own home, and have 24./7 home care. before my husband past I took cared for him before i wasn't able . he was in a nursing home for 11 months and his care was not acceptable, he had to take a number so we brought him home for 24/7 home care. PSP is new to me but now that I know what I'm facing .take it one day at a time.
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