FRUSTRATION DISEASE – OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PARKINSON’S DISEASE - DBS SURGERY MY JOURNEY

Before I start this Blog I want to mention these important numbers in my life today, 51 / 10 / 24 / 3 / 1 /0.2

51        -           My Age - Young I know!

10        -           Years I have had Parkinson’s

24        -           The date of DBS Surgery 24^th June 2014

3          -           My 3 Beautiful children, Rebecca, George & Penny

1          -           The very special woman in my life, my fiancé Maxine

 0.2      -           Ralph, our Border Terrier 0.2 because he's only little lol

21 DAYS BEFORE THEY GET IN MY HEAD!

Have you ever thought someone is getting in your head? Well this is the real thing for me

On the 24^th June they go in! When I say go in that’s to perform the operation. DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION SURGERY. I think the words DEEP & BRAIN are the ones that sound bad……………………No that’s not true!……………………….They make me shit myself. Am I scared? I'd like to say no but I’d be lying. I know all the risks and I know they are low but they are there in DBS and the general surgery.

I know I am the one having surgery but the fact is I will be under general anaesthetic and not have a clue what's going on or any worries.
The people who need support are my family and friends not me so make sure you all look after each other on the day!

You have to look at your whole life and most importantly your quality of life and for me that's right now. I am 51 and if I have to live with this horrible, frustrating and annoying condition I want to accept anything that will give benefits now. If DBS gives me 5-10 better years, I’m taking it now Thanks.

Let me put the DBS surgery in layman’s terms

1)      General Anaesthetic – Knock you out

2)      Stabilise the head in preparation for surgery – Bolt a Meccano set/frame to your skull. I hope the kit is a bit more modern than this!

3)      Make 2 openings in the head for electronic probes – Drill 2 holes in skull

4)      Precisely insert probes to brain – Put 2 wires in (DEEP)!!!!

5)      Connect probes to wires and insert wires under skin from head, behind ear, down neck to stimulator box placed under skin in chest area – Wire me Up

THAT’S IT JOB DONE, TAKES BETWEEN 5-10 HOURS, SIMPLE

Obviously I'm making light of the surgery but it helps me to prepare for this. If any of the surgeons read this I hope you are taking it serious...............oh and please make sure you have a new meccano set!

In my next blog, I want to talk a bit about my history with Parkinson's, how I found out, how I was told, living with it and then I will concentrate on my DBS Journey.