Thoughts

10/19/11

Well we are done with 5 visits of PT and the insurance company won’t approve anymore, at this point I don’t think that matters. We have learned a few things to do at home and I believe as well as the therapist believes that PT is what you do every day at home. Bernie needs to slow down and think before he moves and he is finding that difficult. The problem with PSP is that your brain is telling your body what to do but your body doesn’t get the signal fast enough anymore or your body can’t do the task anymore. For instance when your brain is telling your feet that you are going to walk but your foot/feet won’t/can’t move but you don’t know your feet are frozen, your upper body leans forward as it would when you take a step but since your feet are not following you end up falling, and when you are falling you don’t have the coordination or reflex to put your hands out so you land hard. Standing up is also an issue, gets harder and harder to pull yourself up so you have to really try to throw your weight behind it and when you finally rise up your doing so at a faster pace and tend to fall forward with the momentum. Getting in and out of the car is difficult, moving your legs which are stiff and sore and having your balance compromised makes even that a difficult task. Everything is so much harder to do with PSP; it really steals your life in that sense. Talking is also difficult as your voice just won’t work anymore, words are slurred and mumbled and the voice volume is barely existent, so now it is just easier to not speak at all then to be frustrated when trying to speak. These are things as a caregiver you will see happening to your loved one, yet you need to stay strong and positive, for both of you.