Again questioned about MY PD at the Hospital and Medical Alert Bracelet

     

Flowers From OIivia

Yesterday I had retinal surgery and cataract surgery at an eye hospital!

I filled out all of the forms and listed all of my meds, past surgeries, medical conditions, etc. We had to leave our house at 4:30 a m to be there at 5:45 a m.  When they called me in the back, I followed the nurse and she told me to change into a gown.  She asked me all the usual questions about when I last ate or drank, etc.  She also asked me what meds I had taken that morning and I told her. She said to me, "you have Parkinson's?  I haven't seen you tremorring at all."  I told her  that I was diagnosed a year ago, that I was in stage 1, and that I haven't had any tremors yet!! She took my blood pressure and then told me to lie down on the bed and put my head into this built in head rest type thing. I had difficulty moving because I have PD!! She kept saying to me that "I need you to move back farther" and I told her that I was trying to do so but that movement was difficult for me because I have Parkinson's! I sat in the bed and was so bored.  I got up to go to the bathroom after sitting there for over an hour and of course, I had to scooch back to the head rest position and the nurse was none too happy.  She said to me "you need to move back again!" I told her that that was exactly what I was in the process of doing but it was difficult for me to move quickly because of Parkinson's. I don't know why she was in such a hurry for me to move back up in to the bed so quickly because my docs weren't even there yet!  And I have no idea why she cared so much that it took me a few extra minutes to push my body back up into the headrest spot. She was so freaking annoying!! The anesthesiologist came over at the same time and she helped me move back up. She had been standing there listening to everything and said, "My nurse and I will be happy to help you move back up into the bed but take your time if you want to do it yourself."  She also said to me that she thought my Parkinson's meds worked wonders for me! She was so sweet!  I have absolutely NO idea why I had to  be there at 5:45 when they didn't take me back for surgery until 8:00 a m.  But I guess we are at their mercy when we are the patients.
     I am thinking about getting  a medical ID bracelet for PD. Maybe then I won't have to keep explaining myself!  I think that most people understand slowness if you have a walker or a cane or have tremors.  But it is difficult for some people to see Parkinson's in someone like me who is in the early stages and does not always have to use a walker.