Re: Should older person be told of MSA!

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,as a patient I needed to read your

email. The unknown and indefinable is hard to live with, and you

can't help but wonder why your 74 year old mother can function better

than you, and still so much of what we suffer is taken for granted as

part of an aging process, because it is easy, not because it is

true. We are conditioned to accept, when we should question, if

only to provide answers for those who come after. Thank you, and

your family for caring enough to give his brain for research, it

will surely help to find answers, and that expands what is possible for

so many.

At 5/30/02 08:59 PM Thursday, you wrote:

No

particular opinion- but my mother-in-law and I were discussing this

tonight.

My father-in-law died almost 2 weeks ago in hospice. We had the shy

drager diagnosis about 2 weeks before he died. We did not share it

with him. as we thought it would disturb him (we were still coming to

grips with it)..but wonder now if we should have. He had

started " going downhill " about 5 years earlier, and lost his

only child suddenly about 4 1/2 yrs ago...Felt " not right " for

a long time..but nothing his GP could put his finger on - tried to

address the drop in blood pressure on standing and the urination

difficulties... I think my father-in-law would have felt some

relief in knowing that there was a reason for his decline at 81 besides

old age. I took him to the emergency room once a few years

ago when he was having urination difficulty - I remember the

admitting nurse asking him what the problem was = he said

" Well, I'm 79. " - as if that answered it all, but of course it

did not. I also wonder, if he knew, if he would have

" fought " so hard to stay moving and active ...the day of his

final " freezing episode " that led to hospitalization, he walked

down the block and back by himself. .... His brain was succesfully

donated to Mayo Clinic - even though we were not able to get in touch

with the Clinic until more than 12 hours after his death. The

researchers have sent a nice hand signed sympathy card to my

mother-in-law.

My thoughts are with all of you who are

dealing with this cruel blow and all the caregivers. I think

because we did not know, we did not give in to the symptoms like we might

have, had we known. My mother-in-law feels she might

have been more sympathetic (she was always kind and loving - but she did

push him to do as much as he could for himself because she could not

physically care for him at home if he could not move himself

about).... who knows??

Not even God can change the past, but you've helped set something good in

motion for others. Two weeks does not sound like much time to even

wrap your head around the diagnosis. You sound like a prize

duaghter-in-law. I hope you will let us know if your

father-in-law's diagnosis is confirmed. Meantime take the time to

grieve, I'll keep you in my thoughts.

(((hugs))) to you and your family.

If you do not wish to

belong to shydrager, you may

unsubscribe by sending a blank email to

shydrager-unsubscribe

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,as a patient I needed to read your

email. The unknown and indefinable is hard to live with, and you

can't help but wonder why your 74 year old mother can function better

than you, and still so much of what we suffer is taken for granted as

part of an aging process, because it is easy, not because it is

true. We are conditioned to accept, when we should question, if

only to provide answers for those who come after. Thank you, and

your family for caring enough to give his brain for research, it

will surely help to find answers, and that expands what is possible for

so many.

At 5/30/02 08:59 PM Thursday, you wrote:

No

particular opinion- but my mother-in-law and I were discussing this

tonight.

My father-in-law died almost 2 weeks ago in hospice. We had the shy

drager diagnosis about 2 weeks before he died. We did not share it

with him. as we thought it would disturb him (we were still coming to

grips with it)..but wonder now if we should have. He had

started " going downhill " about 5 years earlier, and lost his

only child suddenly about 4 1/2 yrs ago...Felt " not right " for

a long time..but nothing his GP could put his finger on - tried to

address the drop in blood pressure on standing and the urination

difficulties... I think my father-in-law would have felt some

relief in knowing that there was a reason for his decline at 81 besides

old age. I took him to the emergency room once a few years

ago when he was having urination difficulty - I remember the

admitting nurse asking him what the problem was = he said

" Well, I'm 79. " - as if that answered it all, but of course it

did not. I also wonder, if he knew, if he would have

" fought " so hard to stay moving and active ...the day of his

final " freezing episode " that led to hospitalization, he walked

down the block and back by himself. .... His brain was succesfully

donated to Mayo Clinic - even though we were not able to get in touch

with the Clinic until more than 12 hours after his death. The

researchers have sent a nice hand signed sympathy card to my

mother-in-law.

My thoughts are with all of you who are

dealing with this cruel blow and all the caregivers. I think

because we did not know, we did not give in to the symptoms like we might

have, had we known. My mother-in-law feels she might

have been more sympathetic (she was always kind and loving - but she did

push him to do as much as he could for himself because she could not

physically care for him at home if he could not move himself

about).... who knows??

Not even God can change the past, but you've helped set something good in

motion for others. Two weeks does not sound like much time to even

wrap your head around the diagnosis. You sound like a prize

duaghter-in-law. I hope you will let us know if your

father-in-law's diagnosis is confirmed. Meantime take the time to

grieve, I'll keep you in my thoughts.

(((hugs))) to you and your family.

If you do not wish to

belong to shydrager, you may

unsubscribe by sending a blank email to

shydrager-unsubscribe

[Guest guest]

K,

It is not useful to second guess a decision like Ya'll made afterward. If telling the patient adds something to their life, then yes, tell them.

I think you and your mother-in-law made the right decision, because, telling him at that late stage would not have helped him or anyone else. No one is certain of a MSA diagnoses until the postmortem exam any way. Be a little kinder to your self, you did well.

God Bless,

Judy & Jim Stark

Should older person be told of MSA!

No particular opinion- but my mother-in-law and I were discussing this tonight. My father-in-law died almost 2 weeks ago in hospice. We had the shy drager diagnosis about 2 weeks before he died. We did not share it with him. as we thought it would disturb him (we were still coming to grips with it)..but wonder now if we should have. He had started "going downhill" about 5 years earlier, and lost his only child suddenly about 4 1/2 yrs ago...Felt "not right" for a long time..but nothing his GP could put his finger on - tried to address the drop in blood pressure on standing and the urination difficulties... I think my father-in-law would have felt some relief in knowing that there was a reason for his decline at 81 besides old age. I took him to the emergency room once a few years ago when he was having urination difficulty - I remember the admitting nurse asking him what the problem was = he said "Well, I'm 79." - as if that answered it all, but of course it did not. I also wonder, if he knew, if he would have "fought" so hard to stay moving and active ...the day of his final "freezing episode" that led to hospitalization, he walked down the block and back by himself. .... His brain was succesfully donated to Mayo Clinic - even though we were not able to get in touch with the Clinic until more than 12 hours after his death. The researchers have sent a nice hand signed sympathy card to my mother-in-law. My thoughts are with all of you who are dealing with this cruel blow and all the caregivers. I think because we did not know, we did not give in to the symptoms like we might have, had we known. My mother-in-law feels she might have been more sympathetic (she was always kind and loving - but she did push him to do as much as he could for himself because she could not physically care for him at home if he could not move himself about).... who knows?? K. If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to shydrager-unsubscribe