Irene and Charles (her husband and full-time carer) have lived with her Parkinson’s for 15 years when this video was filmed.
They enjoy the simple things of life – going outdoors and spending time with their family. At the beginning, Irene had no physical restrictions and could move about with ease, thanks to her medication. She could do the housework, cook for her family and play with the grandchildren. At times Irene and Charles forgot she had Parkinson’s. However, gradually, despite optimal medication, Parkinson’s started to influence every moment of the day.
Irene began to have problems performing her ‘automatic’ activities, ie those actions we do without thinking. Few of us think about how to get out of a chair, we simply stand up, and it is possible to step through a doorway without considering where to place one’s feet. But Irene sometimes found she could not perform these automatic actions and would stick to her chair seat or fall at her kitchen doorway.
Irene was referred to a physiotherapist to find ways to solve these problems and help her move better. Irene, Charles and her physiotherapist decided to tackle the chair and doorway issues first. The solutions were simple, but to be successful they require training and commitment from both Irene and Charles, as her carer.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Mariella Graziano, Physiotherapist, Luxembourg, for her contributions to this section.
Irene wanted to get up from her favourite chair alone without asking for Charles’s help.
People with Parkinson’s often have problems in performing long and complex movement sequences. In this clip you can see that Irene falls backward in the chair as she tries to get up.
Video clips have been provided with permission of Mariella Grazianofrom her video ' Common Mobility Problems in Parkinson’s Disease and How to Address Them' . Further information on the video can be found at http://appde.unn.ac.uk/video.htm
