GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Eighteen years ago, Chris Hanna was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at 46 years old. He was considered young onset at the time, having been diagnosed before the age of 50.
"When I was first diagnosed, I didn't know what was going on, what it really meant," said Hanna.
He says his first symptom was a stiffness in his right side. His arm did not swing when he walked.
Hanna, a human resources director at Michigan State University at the time, learned his progression was slow. He tried to stay physically fit: running, biking and weightlifting. It was about ten years into his diagnosis when the tremors began.
"It's hard to see your spouse, your loved one, go through it and seeing the disease in advance," said Kathleen Hanna, Chris's wife. "And there's nothing you can do."
Eventually, Chris and his family moved across state to Rockford to be closer to his doctor at Corewell Health, Ashok Sriram, a movement disorders neurologist. They began discussing a therapy called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).
"We introduce a small amount of electricity into the key parts of the brain," said Sriram. "High frequency, electrical stimulation."
Hanna had the procedure in 2022.
According to the Parkinson's Foundation, DBS is a surgical therapy used to treat parts of Parkinson's Disease. It is not a cure, and it cannot stop disease progression. However, it can relieve symptoms associated with the disease.
"DBS, as soon as we turn it on, the tremor goes away," said Sriram.
Electrodes are inserted into the brain. Hanna said he was awake during the procedure.
"it just seems weird to have have somebody playing around in your brain," said Hanna. "I felt nothing. It was really remarkable."
An impulse generator battery is then implanted, similar to a pacemaker.
When Hanna's device was turned on, he was at a pizza restaurant with his wife.
"I'm just looking at Chris, and we're having this great conversation," said Kathleen. "I don't even know what we were talking about. I just stopped for a moment, and I said out loud, 'I feel like I'm sitting across from the man that I married 20 years ago.'"
His Parkinson's Disease will still progress, but Hanna said it gave him "rolled back time" and allowed him to do things he enjoyed once again.
April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month. According to the Parkinson's Foundation, one million Americans are living with the disease. Plus, diagnoses are on the rise.
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