Most people associate Parkinson’s disease with the tremors, the shaking hands and the wonderful Michael J, Fox who continues to lead, and fund research into this strange disease.
I began to notice how much difficulty Anthony had in, for instance, opening the jar of vegemite at breakfast. He also started to shuffle rather than walk and he became even more stooped than he already was. It was subtle and insidious and odd.
On my days off from work, Anthony would ask me to drive him to wherever he needed to go and one day, during our drive to a doctor’s appointment about his diabetes, I lost the plot.
Me: Why the hell can’t you drive yourself? Why do I always have to be with you every second of every day of my days off from work?
Anthony: I don’t think I can drive any more, Jules.
Me: Why not?
Anthony: It was that one-way street incident in Perth when you panicked.
Me: Well you made a wrong turn – what was I supposed to do?
Anthony: I’ve lost my confidence.
Me: And that’s my fault?
We had parked at the doctor’s office and I was now crying with frustration and remorse at being so horrible to Anthony, but I was so annoyed! I could see that I had hurt him but he was, as always, nonplussed and, strangely, blank.
Once were in our doctor’s office, and the diabetes solution reached, I let my tears out and described how Anthony now refused to drive and I had just found this out. Anthony quietly conceded that this was true. My car-mad husband could no longer drive.
“It’s possible that you may have a form of Parkinson’s disease,” our doctor said to Anthony.
What?
jmgoyder 
You capture the shock and pain of the situation so poignantly, Julie.
oh, the painful sting
Hello lovely! Long time no see. I have been quiet. Hope all is well at your place!
Oh hello and big hug!
Being told that would leave many speechless
And the long journey towards acceptance and peace began. I wonder if we ever forgive ourselves for being short-tempered with the ones we love.
With my husband diagnosed with Alzheimer’s he also made the decision not to drive anymore. I knew his driving was becoming careless and we almost were broad-sided on a couple of occasions. But one day when in a rare moment he went out by himself driving on a Saturday… he didn’t tell me till Monday that he had decided he couldn’t drive anymore as he had run into a bunch of construction pylons. Because it was Saturday no workers were present, but he realized then and there he could have killed someone if there had been some working,