It all started 11 years ago with a slight tremor in his thumb. Michael McGrath (aged 67) who lives near Cloone, Co Leitrim, noticed the tremor if he became anxious or excited. He was 55 at the time.

“However, I wasn’t diagnosed with Parkinson’s for about three years after that, because there is a history of benign tremor in my family,” he says. “My father had it so I said it’s me getting the same thing. In hindsight I would have asked the GP about it earlier.”

What is Parkinson’s?

Parkinson’s disease is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain that are responsible for producing the chemical called dopamine. Dopamine acts as a messenger between the parts of the brain and nervous system that help control and coordinate body movements. If these nerve cells die or become damaged, the amount of dopamine in the brain is reduced and the part of the brain controlling movement cannot work as well.

Managed well for a while

Michael got a definite diagnosis after being referred to the Mater Hospital. By that stage the tremor had worsened and his left leg was dragging slightly.

“I was told to put my two arms above my head and my left arm started to tremor violently when I did so,” he says. “The consultant said: ‘My good man, you have Parkinson’s.’”

Tough year in 2020

Michael didn’t dwell too much on the diagnosis.

“I was still able to do my job and farm,” he says. “I was caretaker in the community centre in Cloone and I kept sucklers – Limousins. I was getting on all right with medication until three years later when the pandemic hit. I got worse quite quickly then. I don’t really know why.

“Suddenly I couldn’t shave or dress myself and walking 50 yards was a problem. My balance and speech were affected too and ‘freezing’ happened as well. It was like my feet were glued to the ground at times. All this hit me hard and I had to step down from caretaking and get help morning and evening with the cattle.”

Deep brain stimulation surgery

It was in 2021, as he continued to attend the Mater hospital as an outpatient, that a new treatment option was discussed.

“The doctors suggested that I was a good candidate for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery because of my physical ability and my age.

“Only one in 10 people with Parkinson’s are, so I often say that while I was unlucky to get Parkinson’s, I was lucky I was suitable for this treatment.”

Initially, Michael was told that the operation would take place in Bristol, then Belfast but he ended up having the surgery in Beaumont hospital in Dublin when it was introduced there in 2022.

What is deep brain stimulation?

According to Beaumont surgeons, deep brain stimulation (DBS) uses a surgically implanted medical device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver carefully controlled electrical stimulation to the specific structures (in the brain) that control movement and muscle function.

At present, they say, the procedure is used only for patients whose symptoms cannot be adequately controlled with medications. This stimulation can offer relief from tremors, rigidity, slow movement, stiffness and balance problems, as well as essential tremor, a common neurological movement disorder. The stimulation can be adjusted as a patient’s condition changes over time.

Eight-hour operation

Michael’s operation took place on Monday, 13 November 2022.

“I had the MRI done prior to that and I had to be put out for it as I couldn’t stay still,” he says. “The call from the hospital came at 8pm on 12 November to say there was a bed available. My son drove me there straight away on what was a teeming wet night. Surgery began at 9am the next morning and I was back on the ward at 4.45 pm – almost eight hours later.”

Michael was home the following Friday.

“I had no pain, my head was just sore,” he says. “There were 100 staples in it and it had been shaved. A battery had been inserted in my chest with the leads coming down under the skin to my chest on the right hand side.”

Michael spent two weeks recovering before his medical team switched the device on.

“They were two of the longest weeks, waiting in anticipation for what was to come,” he says.

Nothing happened initially but Michael’s wife, Marie, was trained to turn up the frequency on the device via a special control unit every third day.

“After about three days I realised I was walking faster and I was standing up straight and doing so naturally,” Michael says.

“Getting up on the tractor was easier too, to put in a bale of silage. Everything improved from there. My balance was improving, freezing disappeared overnight, my strength and speech recovered and within six weeks I was walking three miles a day and jumping into bed like a two-year-old again, where before it had taken me half an hour to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.”

Now Michael isn’t even aware that the battery is there.

“It has to be charged once a week, that’s all I have to do now,” he says.

Life transforming treatment

Michael describes the transformation in his health as being akin to being reborn.

“I’m over the moon and I want to tell people about this treatment because before I heard of it no one was talking about Parkinson’s on a good note.”

Michael is now back driving his car and quad again and recently had the joy of being able to cycle again.

“I wasn’t able to do it in the last 10 years but now I can. I got up on my 50-year-old Raleigh bike the other day. I just threw my leg over the bar and away I went.”

When we spoke, Michael was planning on being back in Carrick-on-Shannon mart to sell one of his Limousin bulls.

“I won’t say I’ll lead him but I’ll be in the ring with him anyway,” he says. “If I get a good price I might be able to give something towards DBS surgery research in Beaumont.”

Michael has high praise for the staff of both the Mater and Beaumont hospitals and would like to thank them for their care. He is also open to telling others about the treatment.

“A huge amount of people have come to talk to me about it since. It helps me helping them,” he says.

Michael’s wife’s story: Marie Mccabe

“There wasn’t very noticeable deterioration at first and his medication played its part to keep it in control for many years,” says Michael’s wife ?Marie. “However, 2020 was a very bad year for us. Like he said, his condition deteriorated quickly. I had to help out with the animals in the mornings as he couldn’t do anything. I’d go to the shed, then get him up and dressed and give him his breakfast and then go to my own job in the parish office in Cloone. We kept going even though it was very difficult. The fear of getting Covid-19 added to the stress.

“When I first heard of DBS surgery I figured this was a chance to give him back his life, his independence – a second chance. All the assessments went well and we were excited thinking we’d get some improvement down the road. We didn’t know how much we would get, but he had nothing to lose at that stage.

“After the operation we were given the device with the app on it so that I could change his frequency every three days. Now it’s only every two weeks. It was upped by a very small percentage each time and we haven’t reached the optimum level yet. The improvements I remember most were him being able to walk better, stand straight and being able to dress himself again. He hadn’t been able to put on his socks and shoes for a while.

“I remember the day I got a lovely surprise. I’d gone out to feed the cattle and had told him that I’d be back in to get him up and dressed but when I came back he was in the kitchen already, fully dressed. It was a great day.

“I don’t know myself now that he is getting back to normal. We even managed to deliver a calf between us the other night, without calling on anyone.

“Michael now has more energy than he’s had in the last 10 years – he has got his life back, his second chance. He makes use of it every day. We have over 25 cattle. Karen, our daughter (An Irish Farmers Journal Farmer Writes contributor) has been a great help and neighbours are always there to give us a helping hand too, which we appreciate very much. Michael is now back playing 25s in the local community centre and the lads are beginning to wonder if that battery isn’t giving him extra powers as he is winning a bit too much.”

What is Parkinson’s

According to the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland, Parkinson’s is the second most common neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s. The incidence is 1-2:1000 of the general population and 1:100 of people over 80?, therefore estimating that there are approximately 12,000 people living with Parkinson’s in Ireland.

For further information, see www.parkinsons.ie and www.beaumont.org/treatments/deep-brain-stimulation