Cavan man is first in Ireland to receive Parkinsons treatment

William Warrington (68) from Deredis, Butlersbridge who suffers from Parkinson"s disease, underwent life changing surgery in the Mater Private in August of last year and it has transformed his life. William was the first man in Ireland to have the futuristic operation and since then two others have had the same treatment. The operation costs €35,000 and was funded by the Mater Private, which worked with the Dublin Neurological Institute on the new form of treatment. He has gone from having to literally sit on his trembling hands in an effort to keep them steady, to being able to hold a cup of tea in comfort. Apart from the Parkinson"s disease, William says he is in great health and this new treatment has given him back a great new quality of life. He was even heading off to 'dibble' a few cabbage plants on Saturday. William went into hospital on a Sunday and was back home on the Tuesday of the following week. Surgeons drilled a hole into his brain and inserted electrodes, which are attached to a little control box, which William can regulate himself. The treatment is known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and it is designed to stop the severe tremors and muscle rigidity associated with Parkinson"s disease. He has not had to regulate it in the past three months. He was awake during the operation and could hear the surgeons talking. During the five-hour operation the patient"s head is placed in a plastic cage and two holes are drilled into the skull. Fire wires attached to electrodes are then placed directly into the part of the brain, which is causing the trembling or twitching. The patient is conscious during the operation so that they can help the Neurosurgeon guide the wires to the correct location and give their thoughts and emotions as the stimulating electricity is turned on. The patient feels no pain as the brain does not have pain nerves. They receive a local anaesthetic when surgeons place a tiny battery pack in their chest, which powers the tiny electrodes. William"s tremor was so bad that he could hardly eat or drink and could not hold a cup of tea without spilling it. The tremor was constant in his legs and arms. He said it was even very uncomfortable to sit down because he was always shifting around the seat to get ease. Once he went to bed at night and went to sleep the entire trembling would cease. 'But as soon as I would awaken up in the morning, it would commence all over again. I now have the disease for around seven years and it gets progressively worse. Even with the electrodes it gets worse, but the electrodes can control the trembling and the stiffness.' William has to take a certain amount of medication as well and combined with the DBS, he is doing very well. He drives an automatic car because he finds it easier to control and he can change the gears on the steering wheel if required. William and Sylvia went up to Dublin on last Thursday and stayed in Jury"s Hotel and he did the driving. He met some members of the media on Friday. William says the doctors are happy with how the DBS is working for him. There is, according to William, a trade-off with his speech being slowed down a little and having the trembling stopped. 'I can live with that' he smiled. William says that many more of these operations could be done here if there was funding forthcoming from the HSE. People are being sent to England and Europe to have the procedure done, and it would be much easier on families if the operations were carried out here. The success has prompted Professor Tim Lynch who chose William and the two other patients, to campaign for additional funding. He says it would be more cost effective to treat patients here, rather than sending them abroad, as is the current HSE practice. 'We have proof that this procedure is safe to perform,' he said. Consultant neurosurgeon Dr. Gavin Quigley who carried out the operation says that it allows people to have a much better quality of life. 'What we are trying to do is help symptoms of tremors, but it is not a cure,' he said. The Mater Private recently applied to the HSE for funding. The HSE has now said it will give the proposal due consideration. William Warrington revealed that they are looking at commencing the procedure in the Royal Hospital in Belfast. William said he got excellent care in the Mater Private and he wished to also mention nurse Deirdre O"Brien, who is involved in programming the little control box. He also complimented Marie Murray for organising everything for him and the head nurse Mary Byrne in Our Lady"s Ward in the Mater Private. Just to show William is getting on with life, he smiled as he informed me that he had the potatoes set, and has also put in carrots and parsnips. As I shook his hand, William quipped: 'I"m now off to put in a few cabbage plants.' The former Tractamotors employee is looking forward to making the most of life now with his wife Sylvia and their children Tina, Derek and Robert.