|
Patricia Richardson on PSP
My father, Laurence was an intelligent,
proud, funny, robust, active, and athletic
man with many types of arthritic injuries
and health problems that disguised the
onslaught of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
(PSP). Still, he was a tiger. In fact, he
was the one taking care of my mom when she
was in declining health.
At one point, we noticed that dad was
falling a lot. We thought it was mom pulling
him down, but it was the other way around.
The areas of the brain that were affected
most caused increasing damage to his motor
skills.
My dad's disease was gradual, but it
progressed steadily toward the end. I found
this so sad and wondered why dad deserved
this kind of suffering. In his final days,
my sisters and I slept in dad's room and
stayed with him around the clock. We petted
his brow and held his hand. We played guitar
music for him as he had done for us as
children. We talked to him, gave him
permission to go, laughed and cried, prayed
and waited.
It was only after he died that his disease
was confirmed. So few people have even heard
of PSP. And now I want to do everything I
can to prevent others from undue suffering.
As told by Patricia Richardson -
Actress and National Spokesperson for
CurePSP.
Cure PSP – Society for Progressive
Supranuclear Palsy
www.psp.org
|
