[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In late January, 1997 I got a call at 7a.m. on a Thursday morning from my mother saying I had to come home as she and my father couldn’t take care of themselves. I was living outside of Atlanta at the time and caught a fight Friday morning to Tampa then a car to central Florida. My father was in the hospital and my mother home on oxygen.

My father was released on Sat. and I brought him home, he was to go back Tuesday to Lakeland for the diagnosed and prognosis. My mother had an appointment with her doctor on that Friday for the same. Both were diagnosed with chronic terminal illnesses and would require total care, all in one week.

My educational background is an advanced degree in Exercise Science so we established a routine to exercise to established expectations to maintain a quality of life and give them hope for a future. The programs I designed were based on what the doctors provide then tailored for my parents. This allowed us as a family to interact at a different level. I became a professional caregiver in a short period of time. I don’t even think the word caregiver was a word then.

After my parents I’ve been working ever since developing programs for people with chronic illness. I began with a gentleman who had Parkinson’s in 2002 and have been dedicated working with PD since.

The section on caregiving is my experiences personally with my parents and what I’ve seen over the past 15 years with Parkinson’s in the home. My involvement with someone with PD is on the average 4-5 years 3-5 days a week. I’ve witness a lot of care giving during this span of years.

I hope this section is of value.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]