Visit to the GP
It was in March 2020 that I decided the next visit to my GP for my cholesterol review was the time to chat about the tremble that I was experiencing. It was not improving, and I was noticing it more over time.
After a chat about getting a refill for ongoing cholesterol meds and progress on that front I casually brought up the "... and one other thing" part of the conversation.
Explaining the symptoms and the fact that my older brother had a similar tremor which was said to be an "essential tremor" and my thought process was that was likely what I also had.
Dr Caddon engaged me in some basic tests - "sign this paper and write something here" plus a few other observations.
"I dont think what you have is essential tremor"
His feeling was that it "could" be Parkinson's.
OK so what do we need to do?
Referral to Prof Silburn was written up and off I went. The next day I would call and set things in motion to get the referral appointment.
At this point in the process, I kept the suspected Parkinson's under wraps. From everyone. No point in anyone worrying about that until I knew more and that would be after the referral visit.
I phoned the Neurosciences Queensland office and emailed the referral information.
Just perfect timing - COVID-19 lock down really kicked in so minimal services were being offered and no new patients visits were being taken on as everyone nervously worked out how the whole thing was going to play out.
A couple of followup calls over the following weeks to ensure I was still on the radar was all I could do. Patience is a virtue, so they say.
I did want to eliminate the uncertainty though. If I know what I am dealing with then I can take action to mitigate it. That's the way I work. I could research more from a known start point once I get that confirmed.
Finally the call came in, you have an opportunity to meet with Prof Silburn, and I took the first available appointment.
I wasn't nervous or anxious, although a little apprehensive. I would get Glenda to come with me both as moral support and someone who could articulate observations of changes in my tremble, and other physical adjustments that I may have subconsciously made over time. An external observer.