Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 24, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba opinion Canadas health care systems become a Tower of Babel a slice of life for one Winnipeg couple going to an Irish tenors show made a drive to Milwaukee on a crowded interstate Highway worthwhile /b5 who son the Leash writer Sheila Christie says pets a not their owners a hold the upper hand in the relationship. A see Story Page b3 turning to tutors thousands of Canadian students Are going outside the school system to improve their academic skills. A see family Page b3 Winnipeg free press editor Bruce Owen / 697-7523 Bruce. thalamus thalamus electrode the Metal ring on a Lead k that transfers electricity to the a thin Cable that conducts electrical pulses from the Neur stimulator to the Lead. Ventral intermediate nucleus a nucleus medially located within the ventral nuclei of the thalamus. It is the specific stimulation target for Active therapy. Neur stimulator an implantable Battery source and electrical pulse Generator. Illustration by Gordon Preece / Winnipeg free press Neur stimulator Remote control Ian Yamrone a brain implant relieves Parkinson a syndrome the wired Man brain implant gives Parkinson victim a joyous new Outlook on life Lead a thin wire with electrodes that deliver electrical stimulation to the brain. A i know where in a going to be two years from now if i done to do it. By Alexandra Paul brain surgery does no to Hurt. The body is wired with nerve endings not the Skull. Good thing too. A patient has to be wide awake for this kind of operation. Ian Yamron Lay conscious As surgeons drilled Small holes in his head not once but twice one for each of the implants deep in his Skull. The first surgery in Early june lasted to hours. The second about three weeks later took eight. Manitoba a creaking health care system stalled him More than once. Altogether Yamron had to put up with four cancellations a Lack of Beds Fri breakdowns you name it. Yamron had a list of medical complications from diabetes to a heart condition that were strikes against the surgery. But even before the Drill bit into his Skull Yamron knew what to expect if he did no to go through with it. A a in a not afraid of the surgery a he said in june. A based on what has taken place in the last year i know where in a going to be two years from now if i done to do it. Ill be in a wheelchair in a nursing the self described Clown even cracked a joke about the operation with brain surgeon or. Robert Brownstone. A i told or. Brownstone the first time on the table when he asks How in a doing in a going to have an uncontrollable urge to say Hickory Hickory. Doc a uttering Nursery rhymes As a probe is poking Down there is the equivalent of a doctors worst Nightmare a it can mean the probe is making the patient literally crazy. But surgeons need patients to be awake because their physical sensations in response to the surgeons manual probe Are the Only Way to pinpoint the exact spot to drop in the implant a a set of four electrodes at the end of a hair thin wire. It takes hours of careful prodding to find the right spot even with the Aid of Fri images used like Mcnally Road maps to navigate the brain. Each touch of the filament the Width of a single human hair causes a sudden reaction. A Finger will twitch a knee will Jerk the entire Side of a body could shudder. A Hole no larger than an oversized postage stamp was drilled in a perfect Square on the right Side of Yamrone a head just above his ear. Yamron describes the sounds of the surgery As a strange and cracking the Skull was a like tearing away chipboard. It was a crackling sound. A the drilling of the holes was not a problem but the breaking of the brain lining made a crunching sound. It was weird a Yamron says. Brownstone used a 25-centimetre Wand to probe deep inside the brain to the thalamus a Grey Oval shaped mass four centimetres in diameter. It acts As a relay Centre in the brain for body sensations. Yamron did no to know what his body would do from one probe to the next As Brownstone touched his brain. A fall of a sudden the whole left Side of my face Arth shoulder would get a Shock. But it Wasny to painful. They a do it again and it would feel softer. They were finding the location they wanted and then they narrowed it Down to the one that would give them the Best Brownstone found the spot and Slid in the wire with the four electrodes lined up in a Row. A it sounded like a big canister clanking Down there a Yamron says. The electrodes Are wired to a Battery powered stimulator that was later implanted under Yamrone a Collar Bone. Although it sounds simple the surgery is not without risks. The wires can get infected and there a a three per cent risk of a massive stroke or even death. A year after surgery there Are some patients who lose parts of their vocabulary unable to find the words to express their thoughts is an unexpected Side effect. The surgery itself has an incongruous mechanistic Quality that can strike a bizarre and humorous chord in the or a one of the funniest things was when the surgery was All done. Rob says a a Tan Are you of we re done a a Yamron says. A the next thing i heard him saying a screwdriver a a they had to unscrew the Halo bracket from the table to free Yamron from his head hold and they needed a screwdriver to do it. A that was funny a Yamron says. Yamron got in the last word cracking his joke about Hickory Hickory Doc. A Rob said head been expecting it All Day a Yamron says. Continued please see wired b2. Ill be Ina wheelchair in a nursing ;