Robin Williams passes

by designs 74 Replies latest social entertainment

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  caliber

  There is a huge difference in early on-set Parkinsons (hits at very early age like in thirties ) and old age type.

  Mickael J Fox has the early on-set kind . Old age Parkinsons will have you in a wheel chair and likely died in ten years or less.

  The later kind moves rapidly and effects speach and body

  movement hugely.

  I speak from family experience.... I have seen the effects of both types.

  Parkinson's in itself leads to a form of depression ... not what

  Robin needed for sure

  Young on-set Parkinson's gives you 15- 20 more working years (Micheal J Fox )... over 60 (old age type) gives less than half that on average

  ...the LATER CAN lead to lost speach and

  dementia. Only about 10 % of Parkinson's sufferers get the early onset kind ( under 40 )
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  Apognophos

  I wouldn't be surprised if it was evident in some of Robin's last appearances, though I'm not so morbid as to go looking through footage for evidence. But it was stated before this revelation that he had been depressed for at least a few months, which probably referred to the time since he had been diagnosed. The diagnosis probably followed his visiting a doctor because of experiencing early symptoms. Which would mean that he was beginning to develop Parkinson's several months ago, probably more than half a year ago.
• 

  designs

  Parkinson's like ALS starts robbing the body and mind of movement. You can imagine the panic of such a girted and rapid mind thinking about life trapped in a rigid jerking body.
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  Apognophos

  Yes, and of course people would be talking a lot about it, watching him for signs of the advancing symptoms, and some would even poke fun, in the more low-brow arenas of comedy. I can't blame him for not being able to bear that kind of outlook for the future.
• 

  nonjwspouse

  Robin suffered from depression for many years. Reports say his drug addiction stopped a long time ago. He did have a bout with alochol some years back but even that was now gone. He began severe depression again and checked himself in to a treatment facility for help recently ( no drugs or alochol involved, it was probablly pre-parkinsons diagnosis depression which is common) . The Parkinsons mask has been visible to people recently (people that know what this looks like). Parkinson's effects dopamine the brain chemical that makes you happy. I can't imagine after so many years of battling severe depression, trying to stay ok for your family, and for yourself, to then be told you have a disease that will almost guarentee a greater depression. It is a different animal from depression of non parkinsons paitents. Not only that, but the chance of the parkinsons effecting your brain is high. All this and the guarentee his body will slowly be harder and harder to control. I do not condone what he did, but I do understand it. He was horrified at the prospect his family would go through many years of worry and sadness. He had been fighting so hard for so many years, I imagine he felt unable to fight this one. Even with al the huge advancements in treatment such as deep brain stimulation surgery that can give a paitent back their motor abilities, reduce or even eliminate the shaking and rigidity. Parkiinsons itself is not nessesarily a death sentance, many times it is something else that gets them.

  His family/friends would have want to give him back the love and happiness he gave to them, but his death robbed them of that. It is a no win situation.