Don’t read this if you are squeamish.

In 2005 I had Deep Brain Stimulation to treat Essential Tremor at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.

The surgeon, Professor Steven Gill, had explained the procedure.  He would plant two electrodes below the thalamus, on the Zona Incerta of my brain. This is where the tremor is conducted and can be stopped.

My mother had the condition and also my grandmother. Hence its other name: Familial Tremor.

So at Frenchay they drilled into my skull and put two probes deep inside my brain, ran a tube round behind my ear to connect them to a gadget or small computer that is inserted inside my chest. Then I was given an external remote control, which allows me to choose how high or low I want the signal to my brain to be. And miraculously it works.  

For further information about the operation, click here.

DECEMBER 2010: the operation received a reprieve!  It was under threat because of funding issues for the NHS  in the south west. I was delighted to attend  a funding meeting and write a heartfelt letter to demonstrate that  the op works.