Before 2008 , the word used most often to describe Sandy Deck might well have been “ unstoppable .” In 1986 , she launched Sandy Deck ’ s Parties , a children ’ sbirthday party business , in her basement . The company offered party-givers everything they ’ d need to throw celebrations in more than 20 different themes , including arts and crafts , and hair , nails and makeup , inrented spaces , clients ’ homes and storefronts . “ I was at the grocery store and someone asked meifwedid sand parties , and Isaid ‘ Oh sure ,’ though I ’ d never heard of it ,” she says . “ You just fill bottles with sand !” ABronx native who has lived in Norwood for more than four decades , Deck eventually grew her business into a48-member franchise , and was featured on the cover of Woman ’ s World magazine .
But 15 years ago , Deck was forced to pause . She was in Aruba for an annual vacation with family when she noticed that her right leg had asubtle tremor . The symptom stayed fairly mild over time , but after she contracted COVID in early 2020 , it worsened to the point where she was shaking uncontrollably all day , and had to hold onto her husband to steady herself while crossing the street .
“ I went to so many neurologists ,” says Deck . “ Some said it was psychosomatic , and one said , ‘ If you go to a fancy New York doctor , they ’ ll say it ’ s Parkinson ’ s Disease .” But she did have Parkinson ’ s , and the two physicians
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STAYING FIT FOR FAMILY ( Top ) Deck with Maddy , her rescue puppy ; ( above ) in Aruba with grandson Archie , whose imminent birth inspired Deck to undergo DBS . |
who treated it —“ They saved my life ,” she says — both practiced in Bergen County .
It was Deck ’ shusband who found Dr . Elena Clar , aneurologist specializing in movement disorders , and Dr . Hooman Azmi , the director of the Division of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery ; both are affiliated with Hackensack University Medical Center and New Jersey Brain and Spine . They found that Deck was agood candidate for deep brain stimulation ( DBS ) surgery , inwhich electrodes are planted in the brain to generate electrical impulses that control abnormal brain activity . In asecond procedure shortly thereafter , aprogrammable generator is placed under the skin in the upper chest and connected to the electrodes .
“ Parkinson ’ s disease can manifest differently in people ,” says Azmi . “ Some people have rigidity and slowness and no tremors , while others have tremor-dominant Parkinson ’ s , when PD symptoms are mostly tremor and less or no rigidity and slowness . Sandy had tremor-dominant Parkinson ’ s , and that responds well toDBS .”
Deck hoped to have the surgery in April 2020 , but the pandemic was raging then , soshe had to wait until September . She says she ’ s allergic to Tylenol and Advil , and the medications she tried to treat her condition didn ’ t agree with her .“ I ’ dgotobed every night thinking about aknife going into my brain ,” she says . But she was inspired bythe desire tohold the baby her son and daughter-in-law would one day have without shaking .
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COURTESY OF SANDY DECK |
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12 2023 EDITION ( 201 ) HEALTH |