Looking Back Can Predict the Future

Looking back can predict the future. Here are several scenarios I experienced leading up to a Parkinson's diagnosis. In hindsight, I was exhibiting Parkinson's disease symptoms.

Multiple falls

Scenario 1: I was walking to my job at a hospital as usual. I was wearing rubber-soled clogs. The floor was highly polished. To my embarrassment, I froze in place and then slipped and fell face forward on the floor.

Bleeding from my nose and head, registered nurses rushed me into the emergency room. To stop the bleeding, I was told by the emergency room doctor that I needed 10 stitches to close my head wound. That year, this scenario was repeated 3 more times. Again, each time I was wearing a pair of clogs. Damn clogs, I thought.

Parkinson's disease symptom:postural instability, bradykinesia,

Developing weakness

Scenario 2: About 7 months later, I noticed that I was getting weaker and weaker. I was having difficulty lifting my briefcase from my car. I also experienced difficulty trying to lift boxes and carrying groceries. However, I thought it was just old age setting in.

In addition, my wife and I were going to take a plane trip. We packed the luggage and were all set to place it in the car for the ride to the airport. I was not able to lift the luggage or put it in the trunk. I thought that my wife must be taking her entire wardrobe on this trip.

Parkinson's disease symptom: hypotonia

Noticeable fatigue

Scenario 3: Walking from the parking space at the airport, I noticed that I could not handle the luggage on wheels and I was taking many short "baby" steps.

At the time, I thought it was because we were at the terminal at 6:00 AM. I figured that I was probably still tired and needed more sleep. I could get some rest on the plane and be refreshed, and back to normal.

Parkinson's disease symptoms:fatigue, bradykinesia

Slowed movement

Scenario 4: Our relatives picked us up upon arrival at the airport. All of us were packed into the car. We arrived at their apartment but had to park a few blocks away since we were in a city.

The group started walking briskly. Each of us had to carry a piece of luggage. I too took my heavy luggage on wheels and walked very slowly, taking small, short steps. Incidentally, we were walking up a small hill.

The group was far ahead of me. I thought that the group was happy to see each other and were talking amongst themselves. As a result, they didn’t realize that I was falling far behind them. They probably thought that I was just being slow. In reality, I was just having difficulty navigating up the hill with this luggage.

When I finally made It to the front door, I was fatigued. Mockingly, comments were made about me being so slow. When I entered the apartment, I headed to the first chair that I saw and promptly plopped myself into it.

Parkinson's disease symptom:bradykinesia

Confirming my diagnosis

I am a professional man with a master’s degree. I am in the allied medical field. Taking everything into account, I should have been able to connect all the above dots and put them into place. But like many everyday people, I didn’t.

More events and weaknesses occurred until I sought out medical help. A Movement Disorder Neurologist examined me, then the neurologist diagnosed me as having Parkinson's disease. They prescribed medication to treat the now confirmed diagnosis and my symptoms subsided within a few weeks.

Call your doctor

When you notice things that are changing within your body, please call your doctor immediately.

If you have difficulty with walking, balance, talking, tremors, or any other movement or cognitive changes, seek medical intervention. The sooner you are diagnosed, the sooner intervention can take place.