Help for Lisa Palmisano’s brain surgeries

Just before Lisa’s 40th birthday, she and Jason decided to run a marathon to celebrate the new decade. She started getting a really bad cramp (or so she thought) in her left foot that nothing seemed to resolve. In addition, about the same time, Jason noticed that Lisa was holding her left arm to her chest, instead of swinging it, when they would walk after dinner. With those two indicators, she went to doctor to get things checked out. One doctor told her symptoms were just stress related and sent her to a podiatrist for her foot. The podiatrist sent her to a neurologist, and it didn’t take long to get the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.

Parkinson’s is a movement disorder, and movement actually helps slow the progression. For the first seven or eight years she stayed very active by riding her bike at least 3 miles every day, exercising, and coaching lacrosse. Then they moved twice, and Lisa was working two part-time jobs, so exercise fell by the wayside, bringing on more and more symptoms. Lisa’s doctors increased her dosage of meds, which temporarily helped some symptoms, but she ended up experiencing more “off” times when the medicine wasn’t working at all.

At this point in her Parkinson’s journey, she is preparing for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. DBS it’s not a cure for Parkinson’s, but it is an effective way to treat symptoms and to give patients back a quality of life. Basically they will put leads with electrodes in her brain that omit electronic pulses into certain areas, which will help her not be so rigid. DBS helps improve gate, eases side effects of carbidopa (an effective medicine but causes extraneous movements), and also helps control and minimize the side effects of the ELEVEN medications that Lisa is currently taking every day. DBS also often helps so much that patients can wean off most, if not all, of their medications. 

Lisa will have a series of three surgeries in Gainesville, a 4 1/2 hour trip from their home in Naples, and then will go to Gainesville once a month for six months for adjustments of the stimulation level. Needless to say, this is going to be a very expensive endeavor! She has already traveled to and from Gainesville for two days of appointments to get approved for the surgeries and incurred a couple thousand dollars of expenses.

In addition to helping cover the cost of the surgeries, as insurance won’t cover all of it, the funds will also be used for traveling to Gainesville (where the surgeries will happen) and back to Naples (where they live): hotel, gas, meals while in Gainesville for the nine trips.

Please be in continuous prayer for Lisa and the doctors that will be working with her over the next several months and give as you feel led and are able. Every little bit counts, and any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Lisa will give 10% of whatever amount comes in to the Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson’s Research.

To learn more: https://www.michaeljfox.org

More details about the surgeries:

For the first surgery, she will have to be in Gainesville for almost a week (travel to Gainesville Sun 10/24, pre-op Mon 10/25, sedated MRI Tue 10/26, surgery prep Wed 10/27, first deep brain surgery Thurs 10/28 (where they will put the lead wire in the left side of her brain), then stay at least and hopefully just one night in the hospital)

Second surgery to place the lead on the right side of the brain will be 12/2 (travel 11/30, pre-op is 12/1, surgery 12/2, stay in hospital hopefully just one day, 12/3 travel back home)

The third surgery for the pacemaker/battery pack will be 12/17 (travel 12/15 pre-op 12/16, 12/17 surgery, travel home same day)