Talking With Thomas Graboys: A Physician's Battle With Parkinson's and Dementia

I'm grateful for this. Thank you.

Excellent article. Very informative.

Everything Dr. Graboys has to say. I'm the caregiver for my significant other who has dementia and is a wonderful patient. He was diagnosed 5 years ago.

What i should have mentioned in my comments is that i have had PD for 20years,there are many things i do not have answers for,, but just get on with living one day at a time ,because i can't be certain that today will be a g ood day, Tomorrow may not be so OK,

This interview was well received by me as every comment /answer made a lot of sense and I can relate to them with respect to my Mom. I got a lot of information. Many thanks.

THis was very helpful ,putting cards into card terminals is a problem ,firstly to extract a card from your wallet, then to slide it thru the slot, this is where i come unstuck , my hand will not stay still enough to place it in rite spot. people are generrally helpful in offering to do this for you ,I appreciate their help, i can get it done eventually but when you have people cued up behind you then i dont mind some one helping me.

i have parkinson's and am 76, have had about 11 years. i am so sorry to read about the doctor. he said it all, i feel like he said. i have had DBS the rechargeable one that lasts for 9 years. at my age i will probably die before they do. any way the only thing the DBS did for me was to help with the tremors. my gait is gone,i i am constantly freezing, my husband bought me a scooter so i am able to get from one room to another, and not take 15 minutes to get there. a therapist said i was lucky to get parkinson's in my late 60's as i probably will die of a stroke or heart attack before pa. gets me!!!!! thanks dr. for that info.

My brother has PD and it is very good to read some of the comments from others who have the disease so you can better understand what they are going through. It helps me as a caregiver to give him my full attention when he wants to talk and know that each moment we share is a blessing from God.

The entire story shows how important support system is... and his coping mechanism...

I'm a nurse, my mother had Parkinson's and I've had many patients with Parkinson's. Dr. Grayboys eloquently describes the difficulties of living with Parkinson's and offers support, hope and encouragement which are very beneficial to both patients and caregivers. He is a very special man. I want to read his book.

The REAL Dr.Thomas Graboys as I knew him I was a prominent Physicians wife had seen Cardiac Physicians World-Wide Dr.Graboys was the only person/physician who gave me direct clear, hopes, confidence, that I was not going to die, plus an explanation of my lifelong pursuit of "what is wrong with me " from childhood in Australia, now diagnosed as "Addisons Disease " or Adrenal Insufficiency the late J.F.K. Had this problem controlled with steroids, also the basis for my disease or bizarre cardiac entilty, Dr.Graboys continued reassurance that "you are not going to die" instilled in me the hopes to do much for others as he had done for me. Over periods of 30+ years, he "never gave up on me I wish he had known the outcome which only recently surfaced as a full blown disease "ADDISONS DISEASE" this structured my entire life I married 2 Drs I lived in continual fear of dying due to the many types of irregular rhythms which began as an 11 year old child in Australia. " Dr.Graboys reassurance was true . A former patient. Virginia Gibbes Richardson He was a Physician who was always there to answer your Question !

My husband passed away 2 years ago, of a sudden heart at.tack he never had heart trouble. he was diagnosed with parkinsons in 2003,It was told to us that he had an early stage and it would take time to progress, years perhaps 20. Well, that was not the case. he took at the beginning very low does of sinimet with an agonist. Befor you knew it the symptoms got worse. time between doses became closer. the agogonist caused a compulsive gambling habit. it was not noted at the time that this was a problem with this..later in 2006 it was labeled. He worked. he was a educated, wonderful loving husband, father of 4 top in his field. Parkinsons was a disease that was stripping him simpletasks. he was a proud man, extremly overshadowed by this disease. reading Life in a Balance describes what he went through..I bought this book for him, and the he died. I read it after amonth since his passing. Boy, did this describe what he was going through. he often said , if this is now, I don't want to live to see the future progression. He didn't. Even his Dr. was suprised. he just saw his neurologist 1 month before. What a shock for us all. I anticipated a future as a care taker. he a proud , handsom 6;1 hunk of a man couldn't. I will be ever so sorrowful for the rest of my life for the loss of him.. Our children wish for 1 more minute with this amazing man. Yes, the difficulty caused with the medication that caused his gambling and the debt left behind is an important part of our life. But, the man he was and basicallystill was tried to be apologise for the 2 mistakes he said he made in his life, 1 basicallyGETTING PARKINSINS and TAKING MERIPEX which caused his compulsive problem .Did he die from a true heart attack or did Parkinsons cause the heart attack, Or did he just give up??????????????????????

As a Parkinson's patient myself, I appreciate the detail included in this article. To have a physician articulate so well with the average patient and be so "honest" in his experiences.......well, you just don't find that very often. "Thank You from the bottom of my heart." Never stop being the "superb" physician that you are!