MERRIFIELD, Minn. — Bruce Lunde has never let his age stop him from staying active, so when Parkinson's Disease threatened to slow him down at the age of 81, he decided to take action.
Lunde recently underwent surgery in order to become the first patient in the upper Midwest to receive Medtronic's latest Deep Brain Stimulation device.
"Within seconds my tremor was gone," Lunde said, recalling the moment doctors activated the device, which was implanted via surgery. "It's amazing what they can do."
A Very Active Octogenarian
After teaching in Edina for 35 years, Bruce and his wife, Gail Lunde, retired to the woods of central Minnesota, where they remain today.
"I enjoy cutting wood and I enjoy splitting wood," said Lunde, who relies on a wood-burning stove to heat their home. "I like to have enough on hand to stay a year ahead, so I don't sit around too much."
Lunde is also active in his church choir and enjoys running and boxing, so it didn't take long for his tremors to begin to impact his life.
"The tremor was bothering me more, particularly when I was singing," he recalled. "I couldn't hold my sheet music. I tried medication but I felt like my tremor didn't improve."
Deep Brain Stimulation
When doctors first diagnosed Bruce with Parkinson's Disease a few years ago, they told him he might be a good candidate for deep brain stimulation.
"It's changing the way that the brain networks work, enhancing the pathways that help you move," said Dr. Robert McGovern, a neurosurgeon at M Health Fairview.
But brain surgery is required in order to make that possible.
"It's one long kind of wire that gets sent into the brain," Dr. McGovern said. "We implant two tiny electrodes and calibrate them. They are connected to that wire which then connects to the device."
Though Brain Stimulation Devices have been around for many years, Dr. McGovern says early batteries often didn't last beyond just 2-3 years and required additional surgeries to replace.
When Medtronic began introducing wireless charging capabilities in recent years, it was a game changer for many patients, including Bruce.
"It's charging right now and I just sit like this," Bruce said, showing off the charging pad draped over his shoulder that indicated that it was connected to the DBS device implanted in the upper part of his chest.
"I wasn't interested in undergoing multiple surgeries," he said. "This battery is expected to last more than 10 years."
In addition to the wireless charging, Bruce can also calibrate his own device with nothing more than a few taps on a cell phone. That means he can consult his doctors from his home and dial in his treatment around his lifestyle.
"The tremor isn't 100% gone," he said. "But what a blessing it has been. I feel normal again."
BrainSense Technology
Dr. McGovern said the most exciting aspect of the device may be yet to come. It features Medtronic's new BrainSense Technology.
Dr. McGovern: "One of the cool things about it is it actually records the brain signals on the device to individualize the therapy."
Kent Erdahl: "So, in a sense, the device is getting smarter?"
Dr. McGovern: "Yeah. One, we can learn more about what's happening in the brain throughout the course of the disease. Two, we know that it works already, but this is potentially a way to make it a lot better."
Despite all of that promise, Dr. McGovern said he is grateful for Bruce's courage to embrace the new technology at his age, something even Gail struggled with initially.
"It's something I have a hard time thinking about," Gail said, recalling the first time she learned about the surgery. "I didn't want it to be done, but Bruce was ready for it. So we did it."
They are both grateful they did.
"I don't worry too much about it," Bruce said. "I feel confident that I'm going to be able to function for a long time."