Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it. Can you imagine the pain he felt as he experienced himself disintegrating? And not from something he would ever know the name of, or understand? Neither he, nor anyone could stop it—no amount of intelligence or love could hold it back.
He kept saying, “I just want to reboot my brain.” Doctor appointments, testing, and psychiatry kept us in perpetual motion. Countless blood tests, urine tests, plus rechecks of cortisol levels and lymph nodes. A brain scan was done, looking for a possible tumor on his pituitary gland, and his cardiologist rechecked his heart. Everything came back negative, except for high cortisol levels. We wanted to be happy about all the negative test results, but Robin and I both had a deep sense that something was terribly wrong.
5 comments:
Hate to say it, but Disney paid for his detox for decades.
I have heard people claim that drug abuse is linked to Parkinson's. LBD is a very different disease, and after reading that article, I can see how difficult it is to diagnose. But as his widow says, there is no cure, so even if he had been diagnosed correctly, all he would have been is a guinea pig in drug trials.
Poor bastard, that is a terrible way to go.
Golf.
It is/was a terrible to go. Perhaps doubly so for a man with such comedic genius. Sad we know so little about it, what causes it and certainly not a cure.
I appreciated the article as it provided the missing piece. Something much larger than depression over Parkinson's was involved. And hearing of the LBD link brings me a sense of peace and understanding.
Me too, MamaM - it helps me understand the agony a man that bright must have gone through to lose his senses, his mind, literally. Say what you will about his comedy, and it's not to everyone's taste, he was a human, a funny guy, a guy I could imagine spending time with, and he must have suffered terribly.
Post a Comment