Abbott @ CES: His Life Contoured By Parkinson’s, He Found Relief From DBS

As an artist, Taun Olson freezes the human condition in his sculpture. Capturing that essence … it’s freeing. Parkinson’s nearly carved those talents out of him. “My tremor was so bad. It progressively got worse over the years, to a point where I couldn’t even write a check, I couldn’t type, I couldn’t do a lot of things,” Olson said Tuesday from the floor of the CES 2020 Health & Wellness Marketplace. He had seen his mother succumb to Parkinson’s. “To see that and know that was my future was hard to take,” he said. So he rolled up his sleeves (“It took me 20 minutes to do that. It’s ridiculous but that’s how bad it got.”) and learned everything he could about possible treatment. “I’d been doing research — no kidding, for 10 years. I continued to try stem cells, coconut oil. You name it, I tried it. Nothing helped.” Nothing until he saw relief available from our deep brain stimulation. “It changed my life,” Olson said. Parkinson’s loosened its grip on his symptoms. He picked up his tools again. “Being able to successfully sculpt (before DBS) was not possible. Now I can. And I feel like it’s come back to the point where I’m as good as I ever was. For me, that’s everything. It’s all I wanted to do.” For important safety information about deep brain stimulation: https://www.neuromodulation.abbott/us... There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD), but there are options available to treat symptoms. It’s important to discuss with your doctor what’s right for you along with the risks and side effects of each option, such as motor fluctuations or permanent neurological impairment. The placement of a neurostimulation system requires surgery, which exposes patients to certain risks. Risks of brain surgery include serious, and potentially fatal, complications such as coma, bleeding inside the brain, paralysis, seizures and infection. For important safety information about deep brain stimulation: https://www.neuromodulation.abbott/us... Subscribe to the Abbott Channel and receive automatic updates:    / @abbott   RELATED: -CES Podcast: Tech solutions for the greatest health challenges - https://www.abbott.com/life-changing-... -Our showcase of products at CES 2020 Health & Wellness Marketplace. -    • Heart Monitoring, Everywhere You Go   -Abbott Edge: The Magazine. Download now. - https://dam.abbott.com/en-us/document... Find out more about us and our products on http://www.abbott.com/ Connect with us on ... Facebook:   / abbott   Twitter:   / abbottnews   Instagram:   / abbottglobal   LinkedIn:   / abbott-   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC346...