I am so excited. I have been waiting to share these videos until I got the okay from my brother. Bill has early-onset Parkinson’s Disease. He’s managed pretty well with medication over the years, even running several half-marathons and completing triathlons. But the medications were wearing off sooner and sooner, so he and his doctor decided the time was right for brain surgery (Deep Brain Stimulation). He had the surgery at Barnes Hospital, a part of Washington University Medical Center, about 8 weeks ago. I don’t want to write out the whole story now (some time I will). Let me just say that my brother is an amazing person! We’ve always been close, and I’m honored that he’s having me document his journey on film. Our end plan is to submit a 5-minute piece to the American Academy of Neurology Film Festival to help raise awareness of brain disorders. These are kind of practice pieces, although I’m sure many of the clips will end up in the final version. And I’ll definitely have a longer version for our family. I did the filming and editing with a little help from my son (who also drove me to St. Louis for Bill’s DBS programming session). I couldn’t have done all the driving myself.  Bill is back to work full-time and training for a 5K on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and he plans to run a half-marathon close to his 50th Birthday in August.

What’s With the Cane?

A Big Step

Here are a few pictures.

DBS surgery is four to six hours long with the patient awake.

Bill with Dr. Tabbal, one-week post surgery

Bill completing his first triathlon in 2007.