No Peace of Mind
I am one of three daughters of a CJD victim, it was my father, Thomas Toth.
It was October, 1988 when the strange
symptoms began. First my father complained of a burning feeling
in his feet. This burning would wake him up at nights. He went to
a doctor who prescribed, Vultarin (an anti-inflammatory drug) to
him. My father took this drug for a few days, during this time
noticing his memory failing him. He began to keep a diary of his
symptoms, until he could not remember how to write. This hit me
when I took him to a doctors appointment for an EEG, he was asked
to sign some forms, but could not remember how to write his name.
At this time, he pulled out his license to copy the signature.
Shortly after the symptoms began to worsen and my father could
not remember how
to start his truck or could he remember the directions to get to
work. Now he could no longer be left unattended because he was
reliving his days in the army as well as acting like a child.
When talking to him, during one of the few moments when he was
"with" us, he would stare blankly at you in the middle
of a conversation, as if to stare right through you. Later, we
were told that when this was happening, he was experiencing brain
seizures. These brain seizures graduated into Grand mal seizures.
The last Grand Mal seizure he experienced was the last day that
he was ever home, Christmas Eve, 1988. From that day on, he was
either hospital bound or in a nursing home. He relasped in and
out of knowing who we were, who he was,or where he was. We
watched this intelligent, witty, outgoing husband, father,
brother and grandfather being eaten alive by CJD, and there was
nothing we could do but watch him suffer.
In one of his moments he asked us to
"please pull the plug'...If I recall, these were the last
words he knowingly spoke. My father died July 9, 1989, after
being sick for approximately 7 1/2 month's, he was only 51.
My father is sorely missed by his family and friends. I am
wanting to know more
about this disease for peace of mind, for myself and my family.
Thank you for taking time to read my story.