San Antonio – Elva Brown has been living with Young-Onset Parkinson’s for 13 years.
The 61-year-old never thought she’d consider surgery, but as her disease progresses, she’s strongly considering deep brain stimulation therapy.
“I want to be able to not shuffle when I walk. I want to be able to get from here A to B in a zip instead of a three-minute walk from now. I want to be able to do things for myself and not have to ask for help all the time. It’s difficult when you have to ask people to help you,” she said.
Brown’s neurologist, Dr. Juan Ramirez-Castaneda with Methodist Physicians, said she’s a good candidate for the therapy.
“Deep brain stimulation is pretty good at controlling the tremor, the slowness, the stiffness that people with Parkinson’s may have,” he said.
But most importantly, for some patients, it decreases medication use.
The surgery places electrodes inside the patient’s brain, electrical circuits into parts of the brain that control movement, stimulate that part of the brain, and help control symptoms of tremor, slowness and stiffness.
“As long as somebody is insured, these types of treatments are well covered by insurance, whether that is Medicare or commercial insurance,” Ramirez-Castaneda said.
He fears that many patients who are eligible for the therapy aren’t educated on how it could change their lives.
A free educational event is being held on Saturday, Oct. 28, at The Multi-Assistance Center at Morgan’s Wonderland. Registration is required. Click here to learn more.