Neuro Note - Parkinson's Disease

For our last neuronote, I decided to pick Parkinson's disease. When I worked as a rehab tech at the hospital, we had a client that had Parkinson's that everyone just adored. His smile lit up the room and his stories of war, life on the farm, and his love for his children and wife were something I looked forward to everyday. One moment in particular, was his birthday. The day before Thanksgiving. Most people in the hospital were taking off early and trying to catch their flights to the holidays. This patient had to stay in the inpatient rehabilitation unit all holiday season. We decided to all make him cupcakes that day. I am a big believer in birthdays and making everyone feel special on their birthday. We put a candle on the cupcakes and walked it to his room. As we sang to him, he began to cry (which in turn made all of us cry). He was so proud that we remembered his special day. In his shaking voice, he said, "I have never felt so loved, and I am going to save this cupcake so my wife can take a picture of me with it." I remember thinking back on this experience and knowing I could definitely find joy and purpose in this career field one day. 

I decided to listen Amanda Buch's podcast "My Father's Brain". She talks about her dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at the age of 47. She began the podcast talking about his love of music and how close they were. Amanda was a high schooler when her dad was diagnosed. She discusses how parts of his life began to change. She did her research and saw that 70-80% of the brain cells that produced dopamine were now irreversibly dead. Amanda explains what she was feeling: helpless, selfish, and angry. Her dad's demeanor was: positive, joking, and trying to find joy. She decided to try to find answers and began working with a neurosurgeon and stem-cell researcher to try and see if cell replacement helped with Parkinson's patients. She goes on to talk about how her dad lost his job because he was unable to keep up with the demands of working on Wall Street. Talking long distance and attention was getting harder and harder for her dad. She knew at her alma mater, Columbia University, doctors were testing technology called focused ultrasound to target specific damage areas of the brain. Finally she talks about using "deep brain stimulation". Her dad went through with this procedure. His surgery was successful, but soon after, his head began to swell. They rushed him back to the hospital, but were relieved to know that only a few small staples were causing the swelling and irritation. She ends the talk discussing how he is now able to walk, run, play tennis, and play the guitar again. She finishes her podcast by saying, "Never Surrender to Misfortune." 

I thought this video was very uplifting and encouraging. She discussed multiple ways to help Parkinson's clients that we talked about in class including Deep Brain Stimulation. I included the Mayo Clinic's page of the diagnosis about Parkinson's Disease. 

Reference List:

Buch, A. (2016). My Father's Brain [Podcast]. https://www.storycollider.org/stories/2016/12/2/amanda-buch-my-fathers-brain

Parkinson's Disease. The Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055