DBS OR THE dB's?

IT'S A NO-BRAINER, REALLY.

ACTUALLY, IT'S AN ALL-BRAINER FOR A TINY SLIVER OF THE POPULATION.

THE QUESTION: WOULD YOU RATHER LISTEN TO AN OLD BAND CALLED THE dBs OR HAVE DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION SURGERY TO RELIEVE PARKINSON'S DISEASE SYMPTOMS?

DBS OR dBs?

DUH. CRANK UP THAT OLD CASSETTE PLAYER AND I'LL PLAY SOME JANGLY TUNES FROM THE GROUP WHOSE NAME IS BASED ON "STANDS FOR DeciBels."

OR I CAN HAVE A NEUROSURGEON CRANK UP WHAT I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IS A LOUD SAW - OR WHATEVER THEY USE TO LITERALLY GET INTO THE TOP OF MY HEAD - TO PERFORM DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION SURGERY.

THERE'S SKULL THEY HAVE TO GET THROUGH TO REACH THE PART OF THE BRAIN THEY NEED TO WORK ON. CAN'T IMAGINE THAT'S THE EASIEST THING TO GET INTO.

NOW THE BEST PART: I AM WIDE AWAKE DURING THIS PROCEDURE, AS THERE AREN'T ANY NERVE ENDINGS UP THERE, HENCE I CAN'T FEEL A THING.

SURE.

BUT I CAN IMAGINE I FEEL STUFF AS THEY DIG AROUND UP THERE LIKE A TODDLER REACHING INSIDE HIS TOY BIN TO GRAB A FEW BRIGHTLY-COLORED BLOCKS.

TO BE HONEST, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT DBS WILL DO FOR ME, SO I WILL THROW SOME STUFF FROM THE INTERNET AT YOU IN THE NEXT COLUMN.

BUT FIRST A BIT OF BACKGROUND. ON DEC, 8, IT WAS MY 11th YEAR SINCE BEING DIAGNOSED WITH EARLY-ONSET PARKINSON'S DISEASE. (YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT "MY STORY" AT THE BOTTOM OF www.pdproject2020.blogspot.com).

I WAS 38 WHEN DIAGNOSED, AFTER A FEW SCARY MONTHS OF MEDICAL TESTS AND MY NEUROLOGIST UNABLE TO PINPOINT WHAT WAS GOING ON.

NOW, 11 YEARS LATER, I SPEND SOME OF THE DAY IN A WHEELCHAIR. I HAVE FALLEN TOO MUCH IN THE LAST TWO YEARS NOT TO DO THIS.

OUR NEIGHBOR'S FATHER HAD PARKINSON'S AS WELL. WHEN I SAW GARY AND HIS WIFE AT ROBERT TINO'S FALL FESTIVAL A FEW MONTHS AGO, I TOLD THEM I WAS READY TO HAVE THE SURGERY, BASICALLY BECAUSE I WANT SOME SEMBLANCE OF QUALITY OF LIFE BACK.

GARY SAID HIS DAD HAD THE SURGERY IN 1965 - AND WHEN SURGEONS FROZE PART OF HIS BRAIN, HIS DAD'S TREMORS IMMEDIATELY CEASED AND THAT THE SURGERY HELPED HIM.

MY WIFE ANGIE IS IN THE MEDICAL FIELD - SHE KNOWS EVEN SIMPLE SURGERIES KILL. WE SAW A DOCTOR AT VANDERBILT A FEW MONTHS AGO AND HE TOLD US WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE SURGERY NOW.

I AM PRETTY SURE ANGIE HAS ALWAYS LOOKED AT DBS AS A "LAST RESORT," WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THE VANDY DOC TOLD US NOT TO DO.

HE WANTS ME TO HAVE THE SURGERY ASAP, SO I CAN SLOW DOWN THE SYMPTOMS AND BETTER ENJOY LIFE - WHILE I CAN.

THAT'S BECOME MY VOTE, TOO, AFTER GOING THROUGH WHAT I HAVE THE PAST 24 MONTHS. TO ME, THE CIRCLES OF PARKINSON'S ARE MOVING FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER, CONSTANTLY SEARCHING FOR A PIECE OF FURNITURE, A PILE OF PILLOWS, A COUNTERTOP TO LEAN AGAINST, ALL IN THE SEARCH OF COMFORT.

IT'S NOT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO FIND IT - IF I HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE MENTAL DISTRESS OF THE WAIT FOR THE SURGERY, THEN I WILL.