Neuroscience
Please note: This is part one of a four-part series.
There was something very important Steve Zabielski knew, which he decided not to share with his wife for the best of reasons. So he shielded her from the truth. For five years.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone that I had Parkinson’s, not even my wife.” Steve says, nodding at the memory.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system most commonly characterized by shaking and tremors and often accompanied by difficulty with walking, movement and coordination. Ultimately, the disease can lead to thinking and behavioral problems, the causes of which are still largely unknown.
Historically, physicians have had some success in managing the symptoms of Parkinson’s with medication, which can supplement the lack of natural dopamine generation for a period of time.
It was medication, ironically, that led to Steve sharing his secret with his wife. “I had so many pills,” he recalls, “that they were spilling out of my pockets.”
When he finally told his wife, Yu chong, that he had Parkinson’s, she could not fight back the tears. But even before she had stopped crying, she promised him that together they would do whatever it took to fight the disease. And they would win.
His children were a different story. “They were young,” Steve says, in a voice just above a whisper. “They didn’t really understand. They couldn’t.”
“As I lay there at night, trying to figure it all out, I just kept wondering: How did this happen? Where did I go wrong? What caused this?”
There were no answers. And soon after that, there were diminishing benefits from the medications, as the sickness in Steve’s body began to overwhelm the effects of artificial dopamine in his brain.
The Zabielski family needed another solution. And soon.
- Penn Neurosurgeon Leading The Way To Improve Memory
Gordon Baltuch, MDSteve Zabielski, who is battling Parkinson’s Disease, was having a difficult time managing his disease until Penn neurosurgeon, Gordon Baltuch, MD, a member of the research team, implanted a stimulator and electrodes in his brain to...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: The Immediate Benefits
Please note: This is part four of a four-part series. After suffering with Parkinson’s for five years, Steve Zabielski was fighting the symptoms that characterize the advanced stages of the disease. Medications no longer provided relief. He felt...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: The Journey Back To Normalcy
Please note: This is part three of a four-part series. For years, Steve had enjoyed an active and fulfilling life, traveling extensively, enjoying his career and family, and always doing something outdoors. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: A Life-changing Trip To The Gallery
Please note: This is part two of a four-part series. One summer day, while strolling through an art gallery in Cape May, NJ, Steve Zabielski’s mother asked a friend for advice. She knew her friend understood how debilitating Parkinson’s disease...
- Dbs Patient To Appear On Woman’s Media Center Live
In recognition of Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Robin Morgan from Woman’s Media Center Live, will be interviewing Lori Katz, a patient of Gordon Baltuch, MD, Director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery. The interview will be...
Neuroscience
Deep Brain Stimulation: Battling Parkinson’s Disease
Please note: This is part one of a four-part series.
There was something very important Steve Zabielski knew, which he decided not to share with his wife for the best of reasons. So he shielded her from the truth. For five years.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone that I had Parkinson’s, not even my wife.” Steve says, nodding at the memory.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system most commonly characterized by shaking and tremors and often accompanied by difficulty with walking, movement and coordination. Ultimately, the disease can lead to thinking and behavioral problems, the causes of which are still largely unknown.
It was medication, ironically, that led to Steve sharing his secret with his wife. “I had so many pills,” he recalls, “that they were spilling out of my pockets.”
When he finally told his wife, Yu chong, that he had Parkinson’s, she could not fight back the tears. But even before she had stopped crying, she promised him that together they would do whatever it took to fight the disease. And they would win.
His children were a different story. “They were young,” Steve says, in a voice just above a whisper. “They didn’t really understand. They couldn’t.”
“As I lay there at night, trying to figure it all out, I just kept wondering: How did this happen? Where did I go wrong? What caused this?”
There were no answers. And soon after that, there were diminishing benefits from the medications, as the sickness in Steve’s body began to overwhelm the effects of artificial dopamine in his brain.
The Zabielski family needed another solution. And soon.
Find out where Steve found his first ray of hope.
- Penn Neurosurgeon Leading The Way To Improve Memory
Gordon Baltuch, MDSteve Zabielski, who is battling Parkinson’s Disease, was having a difficult time managing his disease until Penn neurosurgeon, Gordon Baltuch, MD, a member of the research team, implanted a stimulator and electrodes in his brain to...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: The Immediate Benefits
Please note: This is part four of a four-part series. After suffering with Parkinson’s for five years, Steve Zabielski was fighting the symptoms that characterize the advanced stages of the disease. Medications no longer provided relief. He felt...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: The Journey Back To Normalcy
Please note: This is part three of a four-part series. For years, Steve had enjoyed an active and fulfilling life, traveling extensively, enjoying his career and family, and always doing something outdoors. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,...
- Deep Brain Stimulation: A Life-changing Trip To The Gallery
Please note: This is part two of a four-part series. One summer day, while strolling through an art gallery in Cape May, NJ, Steve Zabielski’s mother asked a friend for advice. She knew her friend understood how debilitating Parkinson’s disease...
- Dbs Patient To Appear On Woman’s Media Center Live
In recognition of Parkinson’s Awareness Month, Robin Morgan from Woman’s Media Center Live, will be interviewing Lori Katz, a patient of Gordon Baltuch, MD, Director of the Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery. The interview will be...