Chapter 484 - Surprises
A phone call invited her to attend an appointment with visiting geriatrician Dr W. She had seen him two years ago then last year around September I think we cancelled the follow up appointment; perhaps due to his other commitments, perhaps that she did not wish to see him again, for he had bothered her by asking where she lived and she was unable to tell him. Anyway, I convinced her to see him at 4PM last Wednesday. We arrived 15 minutes early to find he was running an hour late with appointments. We were with Dr W. for 2 1/2 hours, arriving home at 7:45PM. Although I had supplied a list of her current medications, her medication time table and recent medical history we didn't cover all the topics I had in mind, although I tried to stay in the back ground to allow her to speak as much as possible. I rang Wild Dog from Dr W's office to ask them to cancel the evening service one it was obvious we were not getting home by 7PM.
Dr W. gave her the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test (although it may have been a variant) which she passed with a score of 26 out of 30, an excellent score! Although I see on-line that Trump scored 100% on that test so are the results meaningful? ;-). Dr W. then spoke about Cortico Basal Syndrome (or Degeneration) (CBS or CBD), offering to provide me with links to more information on the subject but I said I would search for information myself. I found a local introduction on the subject by the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Support Group (PSP Australia) and intend to buy a package of information. In reading material on the subject I find words like "atypical Parkinsons" and others that neurologists have used to describe her symptoms in the past. Symptoms of CBS are "stiff muscles, slow or awkward movement, shaking, clumsiness, jerkiness, loss of coordination and numbness or loss of sensation in part of the body"; all terms that describe her condition, as well as "thinking problems, such as speech disturbance, word finding difficulties, memory loss and problems with planning". I hear you say "the poor sod is grasping at straws" but you are so wrong! For there seems to be no treatment at all for CBS so I see no benefit to her by calling her crippling condition by another name. The PSP article also states "A limited response to Parkinson's medication is a key indicator of the need to review a diagnosis of Parkinson's". Over the years she has been administered almost every type of Parkinson tablet (or its equivalent that I'm aware of) before being referred to Hot Air City Hospital PD Clinic for Apomorphine from where, due to less than expected results, she was referred to West Beer PD Clinic for Duodopa. At her last private consultation with Dr F, he said words to the effect "You have not responded to Duodopa as well as our other patients". She next sees Dr F this coming Thursday and guess what I will question him about?
Meanwhile she continues her obsessive pursuits. Yesterday a Wild Dog carer was with for the usual 5 hours. After being pushed around our Village in her wheel chair she decided to re-attach the edge panels onto a quilt she had dismembered some time ago. When I returned the woman said to me "Do you know what she has been doing for the last 4 hours? Trying to thread the needle on the sewing machine!!" Ignorant bitch she is! The tiny hook that pulls thread through the needle eye had been bent out of the way and it no longer went through the eye. I had to take photos with my new phone (Samsung S9+ :-)) to see which direction the hook needed to be bent.
Another Wild Dog carer told me of an Oz web site that had daily crosswords and other puzzles. She enjoys doing them but has problems remembering the various mouse clicks to navigate her way around a puzzle. She was having difficulties seeing the numbers on the crossword boxes even though correct navigation of the puzzle makes such numbers irrelevant; so I replaced her 22" monitor with a new 27" one. A child's keyboard with 1" square keys, brightly coloured has been ordered for her to find the keys better.
And so our daily grind goes on.
Dr W. gave her the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test (although it may have been a variant) which she passed with a score of 26 out of 30, an excellent score! Although I see on-line that Trump scored 100% on that test so are the results meaningful? ;-). Dr W. then spoke about Cortico Basal Syndrome (or Degeneration) (CBS or CBD), offering to provide me with links to more information on the subject but I said I would search for information myself. I found a local introduction on the subject by the Progressive Supranuclear Palsy Support Group (PSP Australia) and intend to buy a package of information. In reading material on the subject I find words like "atypical Parkinsons" and others that neurologists have used to describe her symptoms in the past. Symptoms of CBS are "stiff muscles, slow or awkward movement, shaking, clumsiness, jerkiness, loss of coordination and numbness or loss of sensation in part of the body"; all terms that describe her condition, as well as "thinking problems, such as speech disturbance, word finding difficulties, memory loss and problems with planning". I hear you say "the poor sod is grasping at straws" but you are so wrong! For there seems to be no treatment at all for CBS so I see no benefit to her by calling her crippling condition by another name. The PSP article also states "A limited response to Parkinson's medication is a key indicator of the need to review a diagnosis of Parkinson's". Over the years she has been administered almost every type of Parkinson tablet (or its equivalent that I'm aware of) before being referred to Hot Air City Hospital PD Clinic for Apomorphine from where, due to less than expected results, she was referred to West Beer PD Clinic for Duodopa. At her last private consultation with Dr F, he said words to the effect "You have not responded to Duodopa as well as our other patients". She next sees Dr F this coming Thursday and guess what I will question him about?
Meanwhile she continues her obsessive pursuits. Yesterday a Wild Dog carer was with for the usual 5 hours. After being pushed around our Village in her wheel chair she decided to re-attach the edge panels onto a quilt she had dismembered some time ago. When I returned the woman said to me "Do you know what she has been doing for the last 4 hours? Trying to thread the needle on the sewing machine!!" Ignorant bitch she is! The tiny hook that pulls thread through the needle eye had been bent out of the way and it no longer went through the eye. I had to take photos with my new phone (Samsung S9+ :-)) to see which direction the hook needed to be bent.
Another Wild Dog carer told me of an Oz web site that had daily crosswords and other puzzles. She enjoys doing them but has problems remembering the various mouse clicks to navigate her way around a puzzle. She was having difficulties seeing the numbers on the crossword boxes even though correct navigation of the puzzle makes such numbers irrelevant; so I replaced her 22" monitor with a new 27" one. A child's keyboard with 1" square keys, brightly coloured has been ordered for her to find the keys better.
And so our daily grind goes on.
posted by Kilpike | 11:58 am
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