I was diagnosed with PD in September, 2009, a month shy of my 43rd birthday. I have since run the gamut of available pharmaceuticals – carbidopa/levidopa, Azilect, agonists, etc. When the drug therapies were losing their effectiveness and after much discussion of our options with our neurologist, my wife and I ultimately decided on Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery. The surgery was completed in June, 2020 and we have no regrets. The results have been (pun intended) stimulating!

As the 5th of 6 children, I have always been very active physically, playing all kinds of ‘ball’ in the backyard as a kid with my siblings, neighbors, and friends. Since getting the COVID-19 (lbs that is!) and with the rigidity progressing from my PD, I find it much more difficult to stay active these days. However, I still believe that activity/exercise is a very important tool to delay the effects of PD.

Peronally, I have a wonderful wife of 35 years, Heather, two terrific children, Grace and Gabriel, and a dog named Bodie. I am a retired financial analyst in the automotive industry. I feel very honored, blessed, and grateful to MPF to be given the opportunity to share my experiences as a mentor and invite anyone who is struggling with the decision to DBS to reach out to me.

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