First, I had to see my neurologist, Dr Richard Peppard one last time. I have to say that this must have been one of the most beneficial doctors appointments I have ever had. When I got there his nurse Mary ran through everything. My long list of questions were answered and for the last fifteen minutes Richard joined us to add just a touch more clarity to the process. At the end they got me to do some tests so I would have a baseline comparison for my tremor. I had to do some fine motor skills, and they observed my tremor on video as well. They also had me do some reading as voice can be effected by the procedure, and if it is, they like to know by how much (as would I).
However, the main benefit came from having my questions answered and the assurances that I didn't even know I was looking for. Two of my main concerns were having the procedure not work and freaking out on the table. Richard shot these two concerns down in a smoking ball of flames whilst being extremely professional and compassionate too. For the procedure not working he basically made me feel like I was the ideal candidate for DBS and it would be extremely rare for it not to work. I have decided not to question the validity of this new belief as research in this area might only stand to worsen my anxiety. Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss. As for the freaking out on the table, he told me that he has never had a problem with any patient before, even Parkinson's patients, where anxiety is commonplace. He also talked up the compassionate nature of the staff and the effective nature of the drugs that they use, and if it really did hit the fan, they could always put me under with the general.
I am lucky that I have a great team working for me on April 30th, and although my anxieties have been somewhat relieved I have decided that it is still probably best to focus on the outcome and not the surgery. Next time I will talk about my MRI experience. Until then, Stay well:)
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