I find it so interesting when a medical professional asks me about the level of pain my husband has or how he is feeling today. This happened to us at an appointment recently and, rather than try to answer, I pointed at my husband. When his Physical Therapist realized what she had done, she turned and asked him directly. I am only an observer not the one living in body, how can I know what is happening?

Perhaps my thinking is too simplistic, after all it is his appointment, why wouldn’t his medical professional talk to him first?  And yet, I have had things work in two different ways. Either I am ignored and have to speak up to be heard, or they speak directly to me and I have to redirect the question to my husband. We all know that Parkinson’s Disease can impact his ability to communicate, isn’t the best way to evaluate that impact engaging him in a conversation?

There will always be value in sharing my perspective on where we are with my husband’s PD symptoms. I may be able to shed some light on things that he hasn’t even noticed as his disease progresses, yet he is the patient and he must be the primary on the team for as long as he possibly can. The day may come when I have to be his voice, let’s not rush into that too soon.