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Parkinson's & Beyond

It is not easy to accept the diagnosis of a chronic illness which relentlessly progresses. Yet when May Parker learned ten years ago that she had Parkinson's disease, she and her sister Ruby launched a major campaign to plan and prepare. The two sisters were business women, retired after running their hardware store for over 30 years, and they immediately channeled their professional energies into this new challenge.

"I removed the throw rugs in the house, installed railings in the bathroom and hallways, replaced May's buttons with Velcro fasteners, started eating smaller meals more often. We started a daily exercise routine that the physical therapist had prescribed," says Ruby, "Oh, we did our research." The two sisters, then in their sixties, lived together in a Victorian house which they had restored over the years. They didn't have family in the area, but enjoyed a large and active network of friends.

"She managed really well for those first ten years," says Ruby now seventy four. "I gradually had to take over more and more of her personal care (feeding and tooth brushing and dressing). It was just the last year that I became so exhausted that I could hardly manage."

Friends recognized that Ruby was experiencing caregiver burnout, and they were concerned for her health. Several friends joined forces to look into options, and discovered there was an Adult Day Service program in the area. "May and I had always thought of it as a place for old folks, and of course that wasn't us," Ruby says with a smile. "It hadn't occurred to us that it might be the answer to our prayers."

Ruby and May visited the program, liked the staff and atmosphere, and May started attending three days a week. Her spirits improved almost immediately, in part because the physical and speech therapy addressed issues that were causing her anxiety, but mainly because she joined a Parkinson's support group. Talking with other people who had the disease proved to be extremely therapeutic. And Ruby benefited tremendously from the time off. Her energy returned, and she took up volunteer work at a local museum. Ruby testifies that "I know I'm a better caregiver for May, now that I have a life of my own."

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