It was at a Parkinson’s support group that I first heard this statement regarding the medical challenges people with PD face and it is so true. Once someone is diagnosed with a chronic illness, that should be enough. Take my husband for example, dealing with Parkinson’s should be his one thing, but it never is. Granted this diagnosis doesn’t eliminate the aches and pains that come alongside aging nor does it serve as a barrier to seasonal allergies or viruses. And it increases the risk of injuries from fall so there is always more than one concern as we travel this journey.  

The more health challenges he is facing, the more work it means for me as his CarePartner. There are additional appointments, medications, worries. There are emergency trips to the drug store for supplies and calls or messages to his medical team. Any physical changes in his body usually make his Parkinson’s symptoms worse which can mean that he needs more attention and more support with activities of daily living. When he gets sick on top of his baseline of PD, it always means my workload increases to match whatever new level of care is necessary. When he gets better, it doesn’t always go back down.

They say that people don’t die from PD, they die with PD. We have seen this many times as friends contract covid or pneumonia, injure themselves in a fall, go into the hospital for what should be a treatable illness and the PD complicating factor means they never come home. It truly should be only one health challenge at a time and his should be his diagnosis of Parkinson’s. That’s more than enough for both of us to deal with.