April is Parkinson's Awareness Month and we’re learning more about the disease and the people it impacts.
This month Parkinson's was partly responsible for Utah losing longtime political leader and outdoorsman Ted Wilson.
Some of you know Parkinson's through personal experience.
All most of us know of beloved public figures with the disease, from Michael J. Fox to Linda Ronstadt, to Muhammed Ali.
Sami Rackman is a registered nurse with Intermountain Health who helps Parkinson's patients understand their diagnosis.
Rackman said, “Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative condition, meaning that it is progressive in nature, and that it is causing generation degeneration rather, of your brain.”
What most of us see are the outer symptoms. You may be surprised to learn what's happening is a breakdown of neurons in the brain that produce dopamine.
“Most people think of dopamine as a happiness chemical. It plays a huge role in movement. So that lack of dopamine often causes the cardinal signs of Parkinson's, which are slowness, stiffness, tremor, and gait instability, which is a fancy way of saying you have trouble walking,” said Rackman.
Those physical symptoms are tough to see...taking Ali's athletic grace or Ronstadt's voice that sold over 100 million records.
It's easy to forget that our brain supervises everything.
“So, it really, you know, something in your brain going wrong can impact things like constipation, your speech, your swallowing all sorts of symptoms,” said Rackman
What can be even harder - emotions that can be easily misunderstood simply as a reasonable reaction to a difficult diagnosis.
“There is a difference in being sad because you've been given a hard diagnosis. And that can be something that you can work through with a therapist, and that usually gets better with time. But when it's really a chemical deficiency in your brain, sometimes just a low dose antidepressant could be a game changer. It could make them so much happier, and they're able to interact with their grandkids and their family again. It is something that is treatable, but a lot of people are scared to talk about.” said Rackman.
That's part of why Rackman welcomes families of patients or other loved ones to her classes. Some patients aren’t good at accepting help, but everyone with Parkinson's will need it.
To learn more about Parkinson’s and find out more about treatment and resources available, visit intermoutnainhealthcare.org.
