Page created by: Connie

Anthony was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the year 1992. He never accepted the diagnosis and fought the disease for 17 years until he passed away in 2009. Anthony was a very independent person, and tried to do everything by himself. He hated to be a burden to anyone, and at times would injure himself because he didn't ask for help. He wanted to live a normal life even though it was very tough for him to function by himself. Anthony had poor balance and constantly fell, causing many injuries to himself. He suffered lacerations to his face which required many trips to the emergency room for stitches. At one point, he fell and broke his hip. This required surgery and from that time forward he had to use a walker. After his hip surgery, we secured a hospital bed for him so that he wouldn't fall out of bed. Because the bed had railings on both sides, Anthony figured a way to slide down the bed in order to get out of bed so he didn't need to ask for help.