18
Deep Brain Stimulation and Parkinson ’ s
“ Finding the right support team is my biggest challenge .”
Laurie P .
I was in my mid-40s when I got my Parkinson ’ s diagnosis . I ’ m a single parent , and I had to tell my 13-year-old son about it . I barely knew about Parkinson ’ s myself and what the future might look like , so I couldn ’ t go into much detail with him . Maybe it was a coping mechanism , but we kind of acted like it wasn ’ t really happening .
It ’ s been 17 years since then and I ’ m living my life . I work in a highly competitive entertainment field — where having Parkinson ’ s would be seen as a weakness — so for years I kept working at a fast pace , but I began to feel that the stress would kill me if I didn ’ t change my course . I moved back to my hometown in the middle of COVID because I wanted to have family support . I still work in entertainment full-time , but under my own terms . I travel , go to concerts , date — and unless I ’ m going through an off period , you probably wouldn ’ t notice my PD .
DBS is something I ’ ve thought about for a long time , but my family and friends didn ’ t encourage me : “ What are you talking about ? You don ’ t need that — not yet .” It made me feel more scared and less willing to have the procedure . And I ’ m a lap swimmer , which is very important to me ; I ’ m worried that the device can get in the way of swimming or be harmed by the vigorous movement .
But finding the right support team is my biggest challenge — those people who will work together to map out a plan of care that is designed for me . I ’ ve talked with device reps , neurologists and surgeons and no one I ’ ve spoken to seems aware of the issues for swimming , nor have they brought up the not-so-fun complications that can follow
Finding the right team of people who will work together to map out a plan of care for DBS can be difficult , says Laurie P .
DBS . Some neurologists say they will only treat me if I have the DBS .
But I ’ ve found a new doctor who told me that there were several different options available to me so that I can manage my symptoms without DBS , and I ’ m trying these now . I truly believe that in the next few years , MJFF research and breakthroughs around the world will provide alternatives to an invasive procedure like DBS . So , at this time , I am not considering it for myself .