The source of this article is the Queens Chronicle: http://tinyurl.com/dpttx
'Miraculous' Surgery Allows Queens Man To March In Parkinson's Walk
April 21, 2005
More than 8,500 people participated in the 11th Annual Parkinson's Unity
Walk. (photo courtesy Parkinson's Unity Walk)
John Hynes, of Ridgewood, will never forget the date: April 14, 1994.
His two sons were only infants and his wife was a stay-at-home mother. He
knew that something was wrong with his body and that it was worsening over
the past year.
On April 14th, a neurologist told this MTA Long Island bus driver that
he had Parkinson's disease. He was 38 years old. He never drove a bus again.
Despite the rapid progression of his disease, Hynes pursued a law
degree and managed to graduate from the CUNY School of Law in 1998. By that
time, he was no longer able to walk and could barely be understood when he
spoke.
As the years went by, Hynes' Parkinson's worsened. His body built up a
tolerance to his medication and he could no longer go outside except in a
wheelchair. In 1999 he spent three weeks in the hospital.
In May 2004, he reluctantly agreed to a procedure known as deep brain
stimulation. The results were, in Hynes' words, miraculous. He never used
the wheelchair again and now is able to travel on trains and buses and even
drive a car on his own. He no longer needs a home health aide.
"The six-hour operation is complicated but growing more common," said
Dr. Ron Alterman, director of Stereotactic Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai
Medical Center, who performed the procedure.
Patients remain conscious while doctors implant electrodes in the
subthalamic nucleus, then connect them to a battery, inserted under the
chest. The system sends constant electrical pulses, and most symptoms
disappear for an average of five years.
On Sunday, Hynes performed yet another achievement by marching in the
Parkinson's Unity Walk in Central Park, raising funds and awareness to the
terminal disease that has afflicted the late Pope John Paul II, actor
Michael J. Fox and millions of others.
By participating in the walk, Hynes has accomplished yet another feat
that he has wanted to do for years.
"Walking 21/2 miles shouldn't be taken for granted," he said.
BY OREN YANIV
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Originally published on April 17, 2005
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