Steven Hill
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Sally Gimse hadn't smiled, laughed or left her house very much in the first ten years she lived in Squamish.
The 59-year-old suffers from Parkinson's disease, which is a brain disorder. It occurs when certain nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce a vital chemical known as dopamine. Dopamine allows smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement. When approximately 80 per cent of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson disease appear.
April is also Parkinson's Awareness month.
"I was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's in 1992 at the age of 45," she said. "The disease is most common in those over sixty, but the age of onset seems to be getting younger.
"I rarely left my house after I moved to Squamish," she said. "I was a bit of a recluse, because I was embarrassed by my condition. I was also very depressed"
She said she had little control over facial muscles, making smiling or laughing next to impossible, and she suffered from the shaking and trembling so common with Parkinson's.
She likes to show a picture of herself in 2005, hunched over with a vacant stare, and being helped by others to move around.
"I look like an old woman in that picture," she said, sitting straight in a chair with no signs of trembling or shaking, looking 15 years younger than in the picture. "I want people to see the remarkable difference between then and now."Last year, Gimse was on a rare trip outside the house with her daughter and son-in-law, when fate jumped in to ease her suffering.
"I was downtown shopping and had just taken a pill because I was having a bit of trouble," she said, demonstrating how she was trembling and shaking uncontrollably with the condition. "A man pulled up in a car right in front of me. He jumped out of the car and came right up to me and asked me if I had Parkinson's. He said he had Parkinson's too, but had a Deep Brain Stimulation, and said 'Watch this' and proceeded to jog to the end of the street and back. So for nine months he talked to me about the procedure and asked if I was sure I wanted to have it. He was my mentor. "The Deep Brain Stimulation procedure entails having two holes bored into the top of your head, and having wires inserted into your brain. The wires are then attached to a neuro-stimulator embedded in your chest, much like a pacemaker but for your brain.
Treatment of Parkinson's is mostly done through various drugs, and brain surgeries are rare, and considered to be only last options when drug treatments have proven ineffective, according to current medical procedures.After more than ten years with the disease, and now in advanced Parkinson's, Gimse decided to go through with the operation, and found a doctor in Toronto to perform the special procedure.
"I was awake the whole time during the procedure," she said. "I actually could feel them drilling.
"It is recommended but only usually for advanced patients. But now the company that makes the stimulator wants it to be used for early onset," she added.
She said after more than 10 years of taking numerous pills to keep the disease in control, she believes the procedure could help a lot of people.
"I feel so different," she said. "I used to take a lot of pills, and they made me feel out of it. Now I only take one pill."Gimse raised her hand out flat to show how steady she was now, steadier than most people. She also has gotten her drivers license back, and enjoys getting out and meeting people now.
"I am making up for lost time," she said.
She also spends much of her time going around the province talking to Parkinson's support groups about the disease and her story. Gimse also this week made a presentation for Parkinson's Month to 樱桃视频Council April 5."I want to give some of it back," she said, flashing a smile that she says she is happy to be using again.
