Personal Impact Paper
University of Phoenix
Health and Chronic Disease Management
NUR/427
Professor Gina Stephens
May 19, 2014 Personal Impact Paper
I will be discussing in this paper Parkinson Disease, and the impact it has on the patient as well as the patient’s family. I will be talking about how the patient first found out about the disease and how the disease has impact the patient personal, social, and financial life. Parkinson’s disease is a type of movement disorder, it is a progressive, chronic disease that affect the nervous system. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative condition in the United States. It is more prevalent in males than in females. Onset of the disease is 50 -60 years of age, onset earlier than that is referred to as early onset of Parkinson’s disease. There is no cure at the moment for Parkinson’s disease but medication can help alleviate symptoms. According the National Parkinson’s Foundation approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year. An estimated seven to ten million people are living with this disease worldwide (Oberdorf, Schmidt, & Schmidt, 2010).
The patient I will be discussing on this paper is a 43 year old male. I will call him Tom, to protect his privacy. Tom was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease when he was 40 years old, his symptoms though started when he was 39 year of age. Tom was a healthy, athletic, strong individual. Tom was married with two kids, when he was diagnosed, he worked as a firefighter since the age of 21. One day Tom woke up and noticed an involuntary movement to his left finger, at first he did not pay much attention, but as days passed by he noticed that the symptoms were progressively getting worse, and new strange things were occurring, like not being able to tie his shoe lace, buttoning his shirt was becoming a task, and had developed a stiff walk. After about six months of this Tom finally decided to check into the emergency department. He was admitted into the hospital and diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by a neurologist and was immediately started on medication. Not much changed after Tom’s diagnosis, except that him and his wife had a third child. Tom continued to work as a firefighter, no one in the station new about his new diagnosis though, sometimes he would double on his medication dosage to be able to perform his firefighter duties. Tom was able to do this for about a year, then work started becoming more and more difficult, people started noticing a change in Tom, he was not able to do ordinary task like cut his steak, so he started avoiding sitting with the rest of the firefighters for dinner, putting on his gloves was also becoming difficult. Tom started feeling depressed, he knew that he had to leave the job he loved. Two years after his diagnosis he finally retired from the fire department. Luckily Tom had worked for the fire department almost 20 years so he was able to collect from his pension plan, although this was just 60% of his salary income.
Tom became very depressed and angry at the world. He started having a lot of arguments with his wife. It seemed like everything had fallen apart. Tom started acting bizarre, not like himself. Tom’s wife decided to accompany Tom one day to one of his visits with the neurologist and told the neurologist the changes she had noticed with her husband. The neurologist decided to change his medications, he believed that some of the Parkinson’s medications had to do with the erratic behavior. Tom’s behavior improved slightly, but not enough. Tom and his wife started to go to therapy and started going to church, little by little things started improving.
Tom went out and got his captain’s license and decided to invest on a boat to take people on fishing and cruise trips, this was a way to make extra income and keep his mind busy. Tom did this for about a year, but this too became challenging. In the meantime Tom was struggling to make his mortgage payment, he had to end up filing for bankruptcy to be able to savage his home. He was having a difficult time financially until he decided to file for social security, which he was approved within a few months of applying. Between the social security income and pension, Tom was able to get on his feet financially again. Fortunately Tom’s wife has a stable job with insurance benefits and he has insurance through her work benefits.
Every day is a struggle for Tom, he has sore muscles and pain throughout his entire body. He has trouble sleeping at night and when he falls asleep has trouble staying asleep at night, unless he takes some kind of sleeping aid, which he prefers not to do. For Tom tying his own shoe laces or buttoning up his shirt is a daily struggle. Tom recognized that he has a lot to live for, he has three small kids and a wife that loves him. His three kids and wife help keep him motivated and active. Tom joined an online website called American Parkinson’s Disease Association for young onset where he has been able to meet many young individuals he can relate to with similar stories. This website has made him realize that he is not alone, and many people out there are in his same situation. He started doing research on the computer on holistic medications and other treatments that help improve symptoms for Parkinson’s disease, like omega 3 and other vitamins. Tom exercises daily at least one hour a day, this is extremely important to keep muscles strong and for movement purposes in patients that suffer from Parkinson’s disease. .He has a great neurologist that specializes in movement disorder which he has a close relationship with, his neurologist travels once a year to Europe and learns about all the new and upcoming treatments that are being developed, and will hopefully be available in the U.S. in the near future.
Motivation is defined as the forces acting on or within an organism that initiate, direct, and maintain behavior. In the teaching learning situation, motivation addresses the willingness of the learner to embrace learning (Redman, 2007). The patient’s motivation and readiness to learn played a big role in his ability to learn and manage his chronic condition. In addition the patient’s personality and outlook in life also affected his motivation for change. The patient suffered from depression and was angry during the first couple of years of the disease that made him unwilling to receive and participate in health promoting behaviors to improve his condition. Those who believe they will not be able to cope well dwell on their personal deficiencies and imagine that potential difficulties will be more formidable than they really are (Redman, 2007).
In conclusion Parkinson’s disease is a progressive chronic disease that has no cure at the present time. Evaluation of nursing interventions should focus on maintenance of function and engagement in activities for as long as possible. Having a chronic disease can greatly affect a person’s personal, social and financial life. A multidisciplinary team of healthcare workers are needed to assist the patient in helping maintain physical function and safety at home. Providing education to patients and their family members based on motivational theories are important to determine the success rate or failure of the educational materials given. Participation of family members in the continued care and rehabilitation is essential for the maintenance and patient support during the disease process. As we can see, it is evident how Tom’s life and that of his family was turned around due to Parkinson’s disease. Everyday continues to be a struggle for Tom, but he has learned how cope with the disease in a more constructive matter. References
Oberdorf, J., Schmidt, P., & Schmidt, (2010, February).Improving Care for People with Parkinson’s disease. National Parkinson’s Foundation, (23), Retrieved from http://www.parkinson.org/NationalParkinsonFoundation/files/c2/c2abb799-4e2b-41c5- 8c06-47f3424a58d0.pdf
Redman, B. (2007). The practice of patient education: A case study approach (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.