Eileen O.
We're talking about collecting stories. What's your story?
Survival.
Do you have a bucket list?
No.
Do you have a passion?
Probably friends. And I have 2 sisters I'm close to.
Tell me about your life before Parkinson's. Who you were back then?
My work meant a lot to me. I was a social worker in a mental health clinic and in private practice. I have an MSW degree in social work I was forced to cut back and eventually I retired because of Parkinson's. You know it was a gradual drop off in working. Just slowly, slowly a decrease in my energy.
How did it progress?
Not as much as I would've imagined.
Now you're in a nursing home. How did you get here?
Well I needed a place to live. I had split up with my husband.
Was that related to Parkinson's ?
I don't think so, although it's always hard to say, but no. At 57 we split up. I really thought I couldn't confidently live in an apartment on my own and I went to stay in what they call the adult home. It provided meals and housing. Pretty soon my physical condition deteriorated such that I needed a wheelchair and more help than they were comfortable providing. Then, I moved here.
You’ve got braces on your legs.
They help me to stand when I go to physical therapy which I was supposed to do today, but the physical therapist hasn't shown up.
Any advice you would give to somebody who's just been diagnosed?
I think it's important to acknowledge that you have it, but not to let it swallow up your whole life so that you're defined as a Parkinson's patient in your own mind.
Survival.
Do you have a bucket list?
No.
Do you have a passion?
Probably friends. And I have 2 sisters I'm close to.
Tell me about your life before Parkinson's. Who you were back then?
My work meant a lot to me. I was a social worker in a mental health clinic and in private practice. I have an MSW degree in social work I was forced to cut back and eventually I retired because of Parkinson's. You know it was a gradual drop off in working. Just slowly, slowly a decrease in my energy.
How did it progress?
Not as much as I would've imagined.
Now you're in a nursing home. How did you get here?
Well I needed a place to live. I had split up with my husband.
Was that related to Parkinson's ?
I don't think so, although it's always hard to say, but no. At 57 we split up. I really thought I couldn't confidently live in an apartment on my own and I went to stay in what they call the adult home. It provided meals and housing. Pretty soon my physical condition deteriorated such that I needed a wheelchair and more help than they were comfortable providing. Then, I moved here.
You’ve got braces on your legs.
They help me to stand when I go to physical therapy which I was supposed to do today, but the physical therapist hasn't shown up.
Any advice you would give to somebody who's just been diagnosed?
I think it's important to acknowledge that you have it, but not to let it swallow up your whole life so that you're defined as a Parkinson's patient in your own mind.