Monday, August 20, 2007

New diagnosis and other info

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I have had an appointment for Grandma nearly every day. She has started physical therapy, occupational therapy, has had blood work done, met with the geriatric specialist and the neurologist. Here's what I've learned. If it looks like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, has all the symptoms of both, it still may not be either. Today's doc thinks she has PSP aka progressive supra nuclear palsy.Although very similar to the previously mentioned diseases, it doesn't respond to the same treatments. So, now we're seeing a "Movement Disorder" specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. This is quite a drive, so hopefully we won't have to go frequently.
I also learned that Gma's vision problems aren't from her actual eyes. This is kind of hard to explain, but her eyes see 20/20. However, because of neurological problems, she can't focus them to actually see clearly. Now in addition to her physical therapy exercises, we have to do eye coordination exercises. She will be seeing a neurological opthomologist in a few weeks.
Also, since the geriatric specialist took her off the extra blood pressure meds, she hasn't been falling. This is a huge relief, although I still have to really watch her. I'm very hopeful that in a few weeks we'll start seeing some improvement and she'll be able to engage in more activities.
On a personal level, I have committed to working out 5 days a week. I've found this is very helpful to my sanity. When I start to lose patience, I walk away. I really have to watch my tone. Although, Gma seems really out of it sometimes, she really picks up on my tones. She says she's happy being here, but it's really hard to tell.
I guess only time will tell

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