Hello,
I've just joined here. I am looking for any kind of advice that could help us with what we are dealing with now. My 80 yo Dad has had PD for a few years now. In addition he has had hip pain for years which he recently found out is severely arthritic. His way of handling all this is to basically sit/lay in his recliner for the past year or two. This has completely eroded whatever muscle strength he had. Up till recently he would walk around for 1/2 an hour and call it exercise. He was also working with a trainer that came to the house but that was only 1-2 times a week, and clearly not enough. Lately, his only exercise is walking to the bathroom or the table. He's scary weak and has started using the walker which he previously rejected.

Complicating things, is my 80 yo mother. Her whole world has become taking care of my Dad (and frankly, she is not the caregiving type). She has always had a lot of anxiety, but now, it's through the roof! As my Dad's physical condition has declined, Mom's memory is starting to go. She is repeating herself a lot. We don't know if it's the stress doing this to her or some other process starting. In any case, she is miserable. She hates being stuck in the house and at the same time she won't leave my Dad even though they have a part time aide for him. She can't tolerate meds for her depression, so she remains stuck. It also seems that staying in the house day and night has weakened her physical condition too.

Several months ago, the doctor recommended my Dad have hip replacement surgery. A second opinion agreed. Dad rejected the idea at first. He has just come around to the point of agreeing to surgery. My fear is it's too late. I'm afraid his muscle tone is so weak that recovery will be impossible. I asked what the plans were for recovery and they didn't know yet. They are going to an orientation next week.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom to share? Is this a common scenario?
I thank you in advance.