 |
 |
Hi all, I was a member of the list about three years ago or so and have recently rejoined. As my father's PD progresses, I find that I and the rest of my family are in need of some additional moral support. My father was diagnosed with PD approximately 14 years ago at the age of 49. We have seen a fairly rapid decline in his condition during the past 2 years. He is almost always unable to use his walker now and cannot get out of a chair without a lot of help. Also, I wanted to share with you all my father's very recent experience with Deep Brain Probe (or whatever it's called!) surgery at the USC University Hospital in Los Angeles. He had his surgery on Monday, July 24. He was in surgery for 13 hours. The first four or five hours were spent doing the actual probe and the bilateral insertion of the electrodes. The rest of the time was spent running the wiring subcutaneously to the chest area and the insertion of the batteries. We saw him when he came out of recovery and he didn't look very good. He had a lot of uncontrolled hyperkinetic activity and had to be put in restraints. He couldn't speak at all, but he knew that we were there. He answered questions by opening or closing his eyes and he squeezed my mother's hand. He was released from the hospital the following morning. Both my parents stayed with us until this morning when he has gone back to USC to have the staples removed. I counted about 70 staples and then stopped! I don't really understand why they don't stitch rather than staple. The day following his release from the hospital, there was a very noticeable improvement in the clarity and volume of his speech. I told them that I thought they should expect some deterioration in this area, at least until they connect the batteries. Sure enough, his speech was back where it was pre-surgery by this past Saturday. However, ever since he came home from the hospital, he has been able to use his walker and requires only minimal help getting out of most chairs. It will be interesting to see how things progress. From lurking for a while here, I have read that several people on the list have had this surgery. I haven't been re-subscribed long enough to get an idea whether or not the overall results have been positive, but I wanted to share his experience with you all. This whole thing has been very exciting to all of us and we are hoping for the best possible outcome! If there is a place to post them, I have a couple of photos which I could share with the group if anyone is interested. Carrie