Dr Stacy Patterson says she did not fit the typical demographic she was taught in medical school .

ABC NEWS : LIZ PICKERING

Rachel Fieldhouse

At the time , she

was training as an O & G registrar

in Brisbane .

“ It was intermittent , but I

remember my consultant noticing

it one day , and we both just

put it down to too much caffeine

and not enough food , as usual .

“ But then I began to find

I could not tie surgical knots

with my left hand , and I was

losing dexterity .

“ I also started getting a bit

of a limp in my left leg , and

that was noticed by all my

colleagues .

“ I found it difficult to put

my foot in my Crocs to work in theatre .”

It was her flatmate , also a doc-

Dr Stacy Patterson .

tor , who convinced Dr Patterson

to see a GP .

the first year — I still cannot drink

“ Then all of a sudden , I real-

her tremors , the implant allowed

made her experiences more

“ I was eventually referred

coffee because of it .”

ised , ‘ Oh no , I ’ m getting bolted

her to reduce her medication

difficult — and was a result of

to neurologists , but it came to

One of the big questions she

to the table right now .’”

and , as a side effect , helped her

knowing too much .

a standstill after I had a normal

faced was whether she could

The surgery involved plac-

to sleep better .

“ You know what the out-

MRI , normal blood tests , normal

keep practising as a doctor . She

ing a stereotactic head frame

“ For a little while , I did not

comes are ; you know the worst

results for everything .

discussed it with AHPRA , and

around her head , then locking

have much in terms of dyski-

possibilities .

“ So I was diagnosed with

they gave her the green light to

“ And I honestly did not

essential tremor and started

continue as long as she did not

think Parkinson ’ s was ever a

propranolol , which worked for a while until I started getting lower-limb symptoms and went back to the neurologist .”

It took almost a year since seeing her GP , but she received

go for a surgical career .

So she worked as a locum , then in clinical trials , before moving into forensic medicine , providing sexual assault examinations and medicolegal reports .

‘ The neurologist ordered me to take two weeks off and figure out what I wanted to do with my life .’

possibility for me because I did not fit the demographic that we were taught about .”

Now 35 , Dr Patterson says she lives a relatively normal life .

She married her partner ,

the diagnosis : early-onset Par-

During the interview with

Jeremy , last year and works

kinson ’ s disease .

Australian Doctor , Dr Patter-

the frame to the table to stop

nesia — that type of moving all

full-time for Forensic Medicine

She was 29 years old .

son describes going through

her from moving , before plac-

over the place . However , it is

Queensland .

“ My career was over in a sec-

deep brain stimulation ( DBS )

ing electrodes into her brain on

coming back .”

“ Even though I am no longer

ond ,” she says .

and receiving a neural implant

each side .

So , has her training as a

practising in a physical way , it

“ I was told of the diagnosis right at the end-of-year transition .

to help control her motor symptoms .

The electrodes were then connected to a neurostimula-

doctor helped her ? “ Neurology is not my area of

keeps me up to date ,” she says . “ We do a lot of death-in-care

“ I was supposed to go to a

She says she was awake dur-

tor implanted under her clavi-

expertise at all , so I kind of just

investigations , so I look through

new job , but the neurologist

ing the surgery so she could

cle , with wires travelling down

let my neurologist deal with it ,”

a lot of hospital notes .

ordered me to take two weeks

move her hands to show the

the side of her skull and into

Dr Patterson says .

“ I do not take bloods from

off and figure out what I wanted

electrodes were stimulating the

her neck .

“ But he will let me adjust

patients anymore if I can help

to do with my life instead .”

correct neurons .

While it might sound scary ,

my meds and play with my DBS

it because of the tremors , but

In terms of treatment , she

“ It was my first time in the

she says “ everybody was lovely ”.

settings a little bit more than

as long as my neurologist is

was started on levodopa .

theatre for two years , and I

“ We are a profession that

the average patient .”

okay with me doing things , and

“ I had quite a bit of nausea and

remember being rolled in think-

takes care of our own .”

But she says her medical

so is AHPRA , then life is pretty

vomiting . It was very difficult for

ing , ‘ I ’ m coming home .’

It worked . As well as reducing

training has , in some ways ,

normal for me .”

Rachel Fieldhouse PREGNANT women could soon have subsidised access to the bivalent respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Abrysvo just two months after it was approved by the TGA .

The PBAC has recommended listing the vaccine on the National Immunisation Program ( NIP ) to prevent lower respiratory tract

illness in infants from birth until six months of age via maternal immunisation .

The recombinant respiratory syncytial virus ( RSV ) pre-fusion F protein vaccine is indicated for active immunisation of pregnant women at 24-36 weeks ’ gestation and adults aged 60 and over .

The PBAC said the vaccine was

superior to placebo for preventing lower respiratory tract infections among infants and that it had an acceptable safety profile .

Pfizer said the vaccine would be available on a private script from 1 July at a cost of $ 320 regardless of the NIP outcome . Results from the Maternal Immunisation Study for Safety

and Efficacy , which included 7400 pregnant women , showed a vaccine efficacy of 82 % against severe medically attended lower respiratory tract infections due to RSV in the first 90 days of life .

Writing in The New England Journal of Medicine in April 2023 , researchers also reported “ substantial efficacy ” of 69 %

for this outcome through to six months .

Next month , the PBAC will consider a NIP listing for GSK ’ s protein-based RSV vaccine Arexvy for over-60s , as well as a PBS listing for Sanofi-Aventis ’ long-acting monoclonal antibody nirsevimab ( Beyfortus ) to protect infants from RSV .