Monday, March 3, 2014

My DBS Story

The first time Dr. Zonis mentioned Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery to me was probably back in late 2007. He just mentioned it and then added, "Not now, of course." 

Over the years, he sometimes mentioned DBS but always followed by, "Down the road" or "Just think about it."  I never did think about it. Why should I? I was doing great; I was only taking Parkinson's medication three times a day, so why risk surgery? 

The first time we really discussed DBS was in 2011, after I had attended a local conference about Parkinson's Disease. I even went so far as to make an appointment with a Movement Disorder Specialist (a neurologist who specializes in diseases such as Parkinson's) in Phoenix, AZ which is over 3 hours away. He thought I'd be an excellent candidate, but I decided against the surgery.

It wasn't until mid 2012 that I really started considering the surgery and this blog details my journey.


PS Dr. Zonis is a general neurologist in Yuma, Arizona. He is the doctor who diagnosed my Parkinson's back in August of 2007 when I was 47.

2 comments:

  1. Bev, your story about your DBS process is great! I can't email you for one of those obvious-to-techie-types-but-unfathomable -to-us-normal-people reasons, so I'm responding here instead. I run a DBS/PD support group on Facebook and have recommended your blogsite to my group. GREAT job with stories and photos of the whole DBS process! Thanks for sharing it! DBSdonna

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