Dolor tam acerbus preferendus est nulli

(Nobody should have to suffer like this)

Patricia was diagnosed as probably having the Striato Nigral Degeneration (SNA) form of Multiple System Atrophy.  Autopsy after her death confirmed this diagnosis.

Many people, when they discover they have a severe terminal illness, have difficulty coming to terms with it, and that is quite understandable.  Sometime circa 1998 Patricia wrote a letter saying how she felt about "her shaking palsy' as she described it then.  It is quite a beautiful letter and has touched everyone that has read it.  She gave her permission to put it on this web page and you can read it here.

                         Patricia circa 1999/2000

Patricia was born in Bright, Victoria, Australia in 1938, the eldest of five children. She attended Bright Higher Elementary School and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School in Melbourne. She then went to Melbourne University where she obtained a BA (Honours) degree in History. She taught at Benalla High and then at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School.

                                Patricia in Singapore 1965

She taught for three years and then joined the Defence Department, Defence Signals Division where she worked for many years as a Research Officer, translator and report writer. She took a break for 12 years while she had three boys and brought them up.

                                        Pick the beauty

She had to leave the Defence Signals Division when it relocated to Canberra and took a job as a lexicographer with a company that was designing and building a computerised Indonesian to English translator. Her job was to help build the computerised dictionary.

Patricia became aware of symptoms of what she termed the "Shaking Palsy" during 1993 with changes to her handwriting. 

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Disclaimer

The information contained on this Web site is intended as a guide to assist visitors to this site looking for information on MSA and related issues.    It is not a substitute for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment provided by a qualified medical practitioner.  Some people, particularly those in the early stages of MSA, and/or their Carers, might find some of my information upsetting.
 

In addition, this site provides links to other Web sites that contain information that may be of interest to visitors to this site.  I recommend people check out these sites, but I can not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of information presented at these sites.

John Cummings aka the World Wide Wombat

   Melbourne Australia

 Click here if you wish to contact me

This page was last updated on 30 October 2005.