Helping Those Who Care for Parkinson's Patients
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| Hi all, 2025 wasn't a good year for me as caregiver for my HWP. So far this year I am coping better most of the time. He is still driving during the day. I had to outlaw driving after dark because he didn't recognize our house last week and parked in someone else's driveway. The person came out and asked if he was ok. Daily has has some kind of odd behavior. Last night he went in his room and turned on the TV. Later he came and asked if I knew where his remote was. I finally got up and went in his room and realized the TV was on. I asked how he turned it on and he said he didn't remember. I found the remote on the vanity in his bathroom. This was after he had searched the house and even went out and looked in his car. This morning he asked me to help him put his belt through the loops which he has a done a few times lately. Later he brought out his pullover shirt and asked if I could put it on him. This was new. I guess my question is when will I know that he has progressed to the point that I can not let him drive and have to really think carefully about where I let him go and what I let him do. I am always grateful for your replies and encouragement. Thanks. July |
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I never had to go through this because mom stopped driving in 2007, three years before her 2010 PD diagnosis. She's been housebound for a while. I take her to the doctor, and on very rare occasions, a family function or a restaurant. ... I do worry about things like the kitchen stove. (I also recently took some long kitchen knives out of kitchen drawers and stored them away downstairs. I think she occasionally used them to open packages, but that just scares me.) She has been doing well enough that I think it's ok to leave the stove unlocked (it has a child lock feature). A few years ago when she was having confusion I did consider just turning the breaker off for the stove when I left for work. But now we have a caregiver from 9 to 3 Tuesday through Friday, and 9 to 2 on Mondays. You never really know how cautious you should be. ... She very often "loses" things that are literally right next to her hand. I feel like a jerk saying, "It's right by your hand. Again," but I do get frustrated sometimes. ... She's on year 16 of her diagnosis, and year 5 of her DBS implant. She's doing well enough at home, but cannot be left alone more than an hour or hour and a half at most. ... If you have concerns, I would discuss them with your neurologist. |