Welcome to the member blog!

Hello Fellow PESGSC Members,

My name is Denise, and I have been a caregiver for 18 years for my husband who has Parkinson’s disease. I would like to kick off this members' blog with a little about what I’m hoping to share with you. I am also encouraging you to write about ideas that have helped you as a caregiver.

If you feel uncomfortable with writing, just let me know and I will help you develop the blog content. You can reach me at ddemback@gmail.com.

I have tried many gadgets or ideas over the past eighteen years to make living with Parkinson’s easier for my husband, as well as myself. I plan to write a number of blog articles with gadgets or ideas that have helped us. I am hoping that they will help you as well, since we are all at different points in this journey.

First of all, I am a caretaker for my husband. So, some of my ideas may be male-oriented, but not all of them. Also, my husband is not on any Parkinson’s-specific drugs. He has never been able to tolerate them. We tried them all, and even tried a Duopa(TM) pump. We could not find drugs he could tolerate and relieve his symptoms. His symptoms included tremors in hands and mouth, stiffness in the arms, balance, slow gait, and of course the non-motor symptoms—constipation, anxiety, and others. Therefore, my blog posts will not be about drugs. So, I encourage you all to share your thoughts and ideas on medications that you have found helpful in this blog. My husband had deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in August, 2020. It has greatly reduced his tremors and muscle rigidity to almost nothing.

We are aIl at different stages with this disease. Therefore, it will be great to hear from anyone who has helpful ideas. Also, I think it would be helpful to hear from those who have lost their loved ones as well and how they are dealing with grief. I hope you find these posts helpful and feel free to email me at any time for further clarification or suggestions. (ddemback@gmail.com).

--Denise