By Megan Allison/KTVL.com
Oct. 1, 2015
Medford --
Kevin Tucker was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2014. At 46 year's old he's a young patient for the disease.
"I never thought I'd be...have Parkinson's. I mean it's...it's a bit of a shock to have," Tucker said.
Tucker first believed he had Parkinson's when he had trouble walking. He often tries to walk around his neighborhood with his two daughters.
"Parkinson's...what it was doing to me was making it hard to walk. Like I would have a limp, dragging my leg," Tucker said.
But he said the disease was not easy to diagnose.
"It took a long time to get a neurologist who understood what was happening to me. I'd go to three or four different neurologists who said what's wrong? And nobody got it until this last guy," Tucker said.
His most recent neurologist recommended he undergo deep-brain stimulation. This involves delivering a shock to select brain regions. Tucker underwent surgery in April of this year at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. He said he had nothing to lose.
"The disease is progressive so you're going to need more and more and more and more as time goes on. I'm fairly young for being diagnosed with this disease. It's more of a 60/70-year-old kind of disease," Tucker said.
He takes medication to keep him walking. He said the surgery helped make the medicine more effective.
"They tide the medicine down and work the stimulation up to try and keep it...you only want to try and move one variable at a time," Tucker said.
He hopes the procedure will prevent the need for increased medication over time. He said his daughters have noticed on their walks that he's moving easier.
Oct. 1, 2015
Medford --
Kevin Tucker was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2014. At 46 year's old he's a young patient for the disease.
"I never thought I'd be...have Parkinson's. I mean it's...it's a bit of a shock to have," Tucker said.
Tucker first believed he had Parkinson's when he had trouble walking. He often tries to walk around his neighborhood with his two daughters.
"Parkinson's...what it was doing to me was making it hard to walk. Like I would have a limp, dragging my leg," Tucker said.
But he said the disease was not easy to diagnose.
"It took a long time to get a neurologist who understood what was happening to me. I'd go to three or four different neurologists who said what's wrong? And nobody got it until this last guy," Tucker said.
His most recent neurologist recommended he undergo deep-brain stimulation. This involves delivering a shock to select brain regions. Tucker underwent surgery in April of this year at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. He said he had nothing to lose.
"The disease is progressive so you're going to need more and more and more and more as time goes on. I'm fairly young for being diagnosed with this disease. It's more of a 60/70-year-old kind of disease," Tucker said.
He takes medication to keep him walking. He said the surgery helped make the medicine more effective.
"They tide the medicine down and work the stimulation up to try and keep it...you only want to try and move one variable at a time," Tucker said.
He hopes the procedure will prevent the need for increased medication over time. He said his daughters have noticed on their walks that he's moving easier.
http://health.einnews.com/article/289432024/PtMj5ZLnR3sweoEO
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