Loss of Speech

Losing one's ability to speak is a frightening thought. Although my long suffering husband would probably be delighted at a little reprieve from my endless chatter, joking aside, it would be no laughing matter if I were unable to communicate verbally. Apart from losing a social skill that would leave one isolated to some degree, the most frightening scenario I can think of is being hospitalised and unable to speak to any doctor or nurse. When someone can't speak (for any number of reasons) one is unfortunately quickly categorised as being of unsound mind, and often harshly treated without dignity or empathy. It's highly insulting for people to assume one's faculties are not up to par because you cannot communicate verbally any thoughts or questions.

Despite all my troubles health wise, I have great clarity, my mind is sharp and I've maintained a sense of humour. The hellish thought of being unable to speak, as if imprisoned by Parkinson's cloak of silence, terrifies me. If this unimaginable nightmare were ever to happen, I'm not sure how I would cope, although I've coped with so much during my life, I guess I'd make it over one more hurdle. You'd probably find me going everywhere with a pen and pad of paper in my hand. This sounds like a good plan, but my writing is getting worse - smaller and smaller, making it difficult even for me to read what I've written, let alone expect someone else to have the patience to decipher my minuscule scribbles. It is with this in mind, that pushes me to do voice therapy in the hope I wont lose my voice. I am fighting each day to maintain what I have left, and doing all I can to keep Parkinson's at bay.

An amazing breakthrough was made by scientists in the U.K. whereby they have developed a system of pumping a protein into the patient's brain which could potentially stop the disease from progressing any further. This clinical trial sounds good news to me! If you'd like to read for yourself, take a look at this article reported on Sky News.