SUMMER 2021 | VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2
Parkinson Voice Not Ready To Throw In the Towel
Suzanne Friedman’s DBS Story, Brought To You By Boston Scientific Suzanne Friedman, “I came to terms with the fact that if a 54 year-old Florida I wanted to get better, the only way native, has run a [I felt] I was going to get better was marathon, traveled through Deep Brain Stimulation”. around the world, and raised two children After her diagnosis, she went into an emotional with her husband of 25 tailspin for about a year. years, Steve. “We’re [a] very, very active [family]. We just came back from “When you start reading on the Colorado where we were hiking and white computer about what your life’s water rafting.” About seven years ago, something started to change for Suzanne. The very first symptom she noticed was when she was walking on the beach in flip-flops. Her shoe kept slipping off and she didn’t understand why. Soon after, she began to notice her left leg shivering a bit while working at her computer in the morning. She asked her husband if he noticed anything strange with her leg. “It was almost like [it was] plugged it into a socket and it was vibrating.” No one else could see it or feel it, but it continued to plague her. Eventually, Steve started to notice that she was dragging her feet, and encouraged her to see her doctor, but Suzanne was resistant—whatever it was, she didn’t want to know. At her next annual exam with her primary care doctor, she mentioned it, and her doctor told her it was probably a pinched nerve. She went to a neurologist for further evaluation, and it was then that she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease—a diagnosis that was soon after confirmed by another specialist.
going to be like, it’s scary.”
One of the things the specialist told her is that “if you want to keep moving, you better keep moving.” As a person who was already committed to an active lifestyle, Suzanne re-upped her commitment. From that day forward, she allocated an hour each day to exercise, even joining an intense boxing class designed for people with Parkinson’s disease.
“Sometimes, I went into the grocery store, I’d fill up [my cart] and all of a sudden, the medicine would kick off. I’d leave my groceries and go because I just never knew.” When it got to the point where she almost couldn’t walk, she decided that she had to find out if there was anything else at all that she could do. Suzanne started doing research online, and when she came across information about deep brain stimulation (DBS), she became hopeful.
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But despite her best efforts, the Parkinson’s 5 disease continued to progress. The medicine began to make her tired and eventually it stopped 6 working consistently—she couldn’t count on it anymore. She would wake up multiple times in the middle of the night needing to use the 8/9 bathroom, but often wouldn’t be able to get herself in and out of bed. Trips to restaurants, 10/11 stores, and special events like weddings became unpredictable and anxiety provoking.
Volunteer Opportunities “The Role of Psychology in the Treatment of PD ” Upcoming Events Support Group & Exercise Class Schedules This Newsletter is sponsored by: