Saturday 29 June 2013

Three colours of Parkinson’s treatment

What is the aim of Parkinson’s treatment? Is it to send you back in time and give you your body back? Will it repaint your Parkinson’s portrait in one go?

Given the current state of Parkinson’s interventions and the nature of the disease I’ve accepted that, unlike diarrhea, taking a tablet will not stop Parkinson’s draining you; a tablet will not wipe you clean. Therefore, looking at treatment as a one stop shop at the tablet shop and then you can move on is an ill-fitted approach to the illness.

A portrait is painted one brush stroke at a time and uses many colours so treatment requires a multi-faceted approach. All painted colours are derived from blue, yellow and red. What are the three colours of Parkinson’s treatment?

BLUE
  Back to basics:

Treatment should be focused on giving a good quality of life to sufferers; which starts not by focusing on the portrait as a whole but breaking it down into its components brush strokes. This means helping get the basics right (movement, showering, dressing, cooking, sleep etc) and therefore providing a solid foundation to build up and provide space for a fulfilling day.

YELLOW
 You are made up of many parts, treat them all:

Parkinson’s affects many functions of the body (e.g. initiating movement, coordination, facial expressions, swallowing, speech, energy levels, sleep, bladder control, mood etc) so a holistic approach will challenge and hopefully improve each aspect of the disease; thereby ensuring all four tires on your car are properly inflated.

RED
 Remember the emotional:

The aim of treatment is to allow sufferers to live alongside Parkinson’s. A fundamental aspect if this is to be achieved is dealing with the emotional impact of Parkinson’s; the disease is a problem only because the symptoms affect us emotionally. In addition, the emotional is the source of strategies and coping with the disease so looking after the emotions of a sufferer and their family and friends is crucial.

INSTRUCTIONS: Mix paints as necessary and apply one brush stroke at a time.

No comments:

Post a Comment