For
Dad – Robert (Bob) T. Armstrong, Jr.
April 16, 1931 – January 2, 2007
Using words to change the world. While my words may not
change the world, I hope that my professional skills, which I feel fortunate
to have obtained, can be effective in promoting awareness and eventually helping
to find a cure for Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), a rare neurodegenerative
disease that wreaked havoc on my dad’s health for 10+ years. MSA is marked
by a combination of symptoms affecting movement, blood pressure, and other body
functions. Most doctors end their professional lives without seeing one single
case. A mixture of Parkinsonian symptoms along with cerebellar ones (ataxia,
loss of balance), and a compromise of the autonomous nervous system causes the
progressive loss of all the vital functions, from seat, the digestion, the ability
to maintain blood pressure or pulse in the different positions, the speech,
the breath. The cerebral cortex, where our feelings, our sentiments, our memory
and our thoughts are, remains well preserved to the very end. The causes of
MSA are unknown. MSA is neither contagious nor hereditary. There is no cure.
MSA can cause a wide range of symptoms, including: stiffness or rigidity, freezing
or slowed movements, postural instability; loss of balance; incoordination;
a significant fall in blood pressure when standing, causing dizziness, lightheadedness,
fainting, or blurred vision, male impotence, urinary difficulties, constipation,
speech and swallowing difficulties, and blurred vision.
My hope is that I can share my experience and what I have learned with others
so that we can find a cure. While I will continue to develop this section of
the site, I invite you to learn more through the resources below. The online
Shy-Drager support group was where I went when I was hungry for first-hand knowledge
of this disease (www.shy-drager.org).
Those in the group are patients, caregivers, family members and friends all
coping with the life effects of MSA. Many who have lost spouses, parents, or
other loved ones continue to offer support and knowledge to those that thirst
for it.
Please email meif you’d like to learn more, get involved or if you need support.
I believe that knowledge is power and the members in the small group of MSA-ers
that I’ve come to know are incredibly strong people.
Thanks for listening.
MSA Resources www.shy-drager.org Main site for information on MSA; lists facts,
knowledgeable doctors, support group contacts, research, information www.wemove.orgResource for movement disorders including MSA www.msaweb.co.uk
The Sarah Matheson Trust, organization based in the U.K. www.mc.vanderbilt.edu
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, center for research on MSA, other like
diseases
