Hi Guys!

   I am so glad that we can communicate this way! Sorry about the line
being busy last night, Annie and I talked until 1:00 in the morning. (She
isn't long distance for us.) I have looked for your e-mail address in
e-mail searches ever simce we got the internet in Feb. but I never found it.
 Annie wanted me to tell you about Joe. Last Friday he was diagnosed with
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Most of the info we have found has been
over the internet, and we figure that he has had symptoms for about three
and a half years. He has ALL of the symptoms that we have read about.
 Physically he seems to be doing well, he moves very slowly, gets tired
very easily, has trouble swallowing, and his biggest complaint is his
eyesight.
 Our biggest worry is his mental condition or "dementia" as the doctors
call it. He has gone down hill in the month or so he has been here. His
maturity level has dropped where he acts like a kid alot of the time. He
tattles on our two year old and has to watch his TV shows everynight or he
gets upset. (The Brady Bunch is one of his shows)
He forgets alot and sometimes he can't follow simple directions. We had to
take control of his medicines because not only was he not taking them when
he should, he doesn't understand what they are for. (He swears he is taking
pills for his nerves but he isn't) He was also dropping them and not
picking them up and we can't have that with a two year old in the house.
Most times you can't hold much of a conversation with him because he jumps
from one subject to the next and he is hard to follow. Some of the things
he says is embarrasing and isn't something the old Joe would do. (He swears
all the time, he will talk about sex in graphic detail in front of anybody.)
I don't mean for this to sound like a downer because it really isn't all
that bad. He has days where things go better than other days. Just knowing
that he has this illness makes it easier for us to cope because we know
that his actions are being causes by his illness. We have talked to Joe
about what his condition is, but how much he understands I'm not sure. We
had a little trouble adjusting at first but it is better now. I am sure
that he feels like a member of our household now, and here is a good thing:
he hasn't had a drink since Oct. 18th. I am not sure what will happen in
the future but all we can do is go one day at a time.
Here is the address to the Society for PSP: http://www.psp.org/answers.html

Bonnie, Glen and Jeanie all have e-mail too, I will pass on your address if
you don't mind.
 Bonnie Zoller: heremer27@aol.com
 Glen Skelton : hoover7x@aol.com
 Jeannie Aikens: gjaiken@bigpond.com

Joe has a doctors appointment today (they are taking xrays as he swallows
to see if any liquid is getting into his lungs) and we are going christmas
shopping. 
I have to go call Annie and tell her I heard back from you! ;-) (The line
will probably be busy for an hour now!!!)
 Take care and write soon!
Love ya, Diana