The Journey - Anticipating Cidney 2.0
When I sit down to write I do not have a clue as to what I am going to say. With the first letter put down I build an experience to share, hoping to help others, and bring another voice to the Parkinson’s experience. It is a commitment that I have taken on that is meaningful and rewarding. As a care partner, I am going through a new experience with my wife’s DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) surgery coming up this week. To think that this will be the last Sunday that she will be without wires in her brain. The thought came to me this weekend as to what will Cidney 2.0 be like? I will look forward to sharing our experience in the coming weeks and months.
DBS surgery is a surgical therapy to help relief the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Think of it as a pacemaker for the brain. Wire leads are placed in the brain in the part that controls movement. The leads go to a control unit implanted into the chest area. The symptoms that DBS helps the most with are stiffness, rigidity, tremors and dyskinesia. With a better control of these symptoms a PWP (person with Parkinson’s) can hope to expect an increase in energy and mobility.
So, we are excited for this journey. For the last year and a half Cidney has been weighing out the options and all signs pointed to having this procedure. Her symptoms have increased although when we are on a weeklong bike ride she has consistently found relief. But as we know life isn’t always a vacation and the reality of work, and other responsibilities take priority. As we talk to various people that have had this procedure they have all come away asking the question why didn’t I do this sooner.
Like I have said many times that Parkinson’s is a Journey. Shortly, like a week, after we were married Cid enrolled in a masters program that took her attention away from some of the events of our family. I remember committing to working to pick up the slack and thinking that it is part of our journey. Many people would say that the journey of life is a roller coaster it is a lot of work, but it is not brain surgery. Well this journey that we are on now … is.
For more information on DBS and anything else related to being a PWP or a care partner go to: https://www.davisphinneyfoundation.org/blog/the-what-why-how-more-of-dbs-for-the-newly-diagnosed/
Written by: Pat Donahoo