For Morris County seniors who have early onset Parkinson's Disease, help is available. There are several stages that seniors will go through with Parkinson's:
1) During this first stage, seniors will have mild symptoms that will most likely not affect one's daily life. They may experience a in their facial expressions, walking and posture, and one side of the body may be affected with tremors and other body movement issues.
2) As Morris County seniors move into stage two of Parkinson's Disease, they will notice an increase in their symptoms. Movement difficulties will begin to affect the whole body rather than just one side, and tremors increase, while the body becomes more rigid. Seniors will struggle with walking and posture, and daily activities will become increasingly more difficult to perform. While they will see an increase in struggle, living independantly is still a viable option at this point.
3) It is at this stage that seniors may begin losing balance more, and movements become increasingly slow. Taking daily care of oneself in certain areas such as dressing and eating may become a bit of a struggle, but again, one can still maintain independence at this point.
4) This is the stage where Morris County seniors will need significant help. Walking and standing aids will most likely be necessary, and living alone is not a safe option.
5) This is the stage that is the most difficult to move into. Standing or walking may become something that is impossible to do, due to stiffness in the legs. At this point a nursing home or in home nurse care may be the most valuable option. It is at this point that hallucinations and delusions may also occur.