It has been such a long time since I posted. I am sure everyone thought I had closed up shop, but no I have not. We have had a busy spring with Jim's Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery on the left side of his brain. It went well with him coming home one day later. He had the priviledge, two weeks later, of speaking to the Early Onset Parkinson's Disease yearly meeting.
He was able to turn off both stimulators and show the group what his life would be like without the implants. The difference in amazing. After speaking, during the break, a line of people met him in the lobby to ask questions. PD patients can literally be given their life back with this procedure. It is not a cure, only a coping mechanisim.
Many people are intimidated by the surgery because the surgeon goes into the brain, while the patient is awake, a very unnerving thought indeed. I think I was more afraid of the surgery than was Jim. It gives the patient the ability to continue to walk unassisted, to feed themselves, to have some relief from the constant cramping which is so exhausting and to live a somewhat normal life. The life of a PD patient however is far from normal.
When Jim was diagnosed, finally in 2000, we were told, "A cure is five years away." And hopfully now 11 years later, it is only five years away.
