The first thing I noticed was a tremor. I’m a computer...

The first thing I noticed was a tremor.  I’m a computer programmer and I kept accidentally hitting the shift key.  Then I started to lose my sense of smell. And finally came the depression.  My wife made me see a doctor.  She said to me: ‘Either you get on an antidepressant, or I’m going to.’  That’s when I learned I had Parkinson’s.  Over the years my tremors got worse.  My voice got quieter.  I had to quit working.  My dopamine levels fell so low that I lost communication between my brain and face.  I couldn’t express any emotion.  My daughter grew up without seeing me smile.  I probably seemed distant.  A lot of times I felt like I couldn’t fit in with the rest of the family.  Then a few months ago I had an experimental surgery.  They inserted a wire in my head that stimulates the brain with electricity.  Now all my emotions are coming back.  I’m more talkative.  I have more energy.  I’ve cried more in the last few months than I have in the past thirty years.  And for the first time in her entire life, my daughter can finally see me smile.”