P.J. was just seven when she was diagnosed with dystonia, a movement disorder that causes debilitating spasms. Years later, her condition became so bad she was forced to go into a wheelchair, and for P.J. nothing could be worse. She says, “I spent five years in that chair, it was horrendous for me, I had no quality of life.” P.J. made an appointment with NewYork-Presbyterian. She consulted with doctors who were using Deep Brain Stimulation to treat Parkinson’s patients. They thought that it could help her, too. P.J. was told that she had a 50 percent chance of walking. She gladly took that chance, and now leads a normal life. P.J. says, “If it wasn’t for that hospital, I don’t even want to think where I’d be now. I have great kids, a great husband, things are good.”
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