Hi,
My father is suffering from SCA. He began to have gait disturbances when he was 40. Now he is 54. He can barely walk on his own. He doesn't use a wheel chair but can walk with the support of a person, or holding something fixed, that too very slowly. Although he can eat on his own, he also has some swallowing problems, though not very often. We try not to give him hard textured food. He has difficulty speaking, and gets exhausted after a small conversation. I also feel he has some dementia. But it can also be due to the tension and anxiety of his disease.
My mother looks after my father and I am worried about how much more effort my mother has to put to take care of my father. My father is already completely dependent on my mother from bath to moving.
I want to know how much worse will it get? What is the ultimatum of this disease? Are there any descriptions of ataxic patients' terminal conditions?
Thanks in advance