My 71 year old father had a very sudden decline in motor skills last week and is being evaluated for possible Parkinson's Disease. He was diagnosed with Dementia back in June by a Geriatric Doctor, but I kept telling my parents to get a 2nd opinion from a Neurologist because I felt my father had some symptoms of Parkinsons--shuffling of the feet, blank masked face, drooling, etc. The doctor said it wasn't Parkinson's because he wasn't having tremors.
One day last week he woke up and couldn't get out of bed. My mom was able to get him up , but his legs started shaking and he couldn't walk. He also started having trouble eating, it would take him 45 mins to eat a small sandwich and he said it hurt when he swallowed. We took him to the ER and he's now been in the hospital for 3 days. The neurologist thinks its Parkinson;s but is evaluating the symptoms. My question is for having just a few symptoms and to be up and walking one day, but then not being able to walk or get up the next day, does the disease progress this fast in some people? My father will be going to a rehab center, will this even help? Will he ever be able to get up and walk again and get out of bed, chairs, etc? Or has the disease progressed fast into Stage 5 ???View Thread