A 65-year-old woman named Denise Bacon, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, played the clarinet during her brain surgery at King’s College Hospital in London. The operation was a four-hour deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedure aimed at alleviating her Parkinson’s symptoms, which had impaired her ability to walk, dance, swim, and play music. During the surgery, she was awake with local anesthesia applied to her scalp and skull. As the surgeons implanted electrodes and applied electrical stimulation to specific brain areas, Denise experienced immediate improvement in her finger movements, enabling her to play the clarinet mid-operation. This live playing helped the surgical team fine-tune electrode placement in real-time for optimal motor function improvement. Denise described the moment as life-changing and was delighted by how her hand moved more easily once stimulation began. The DBS procedure, while not a cure, significantly reduced her tremors and rigidity and marked a major step in improving her quality of life and reconnecting with her musical passion

 A 65-year-old woman named Denise Bacon, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014, played the clarinet during her brain surgery at King’s College Hospital in London. The operation was a four-hour deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedure aimed at alleviating her Parkinson’s symptoms, which had impaired her ability to walk, dance, swim, and play music. During the surgery, she was awake with local anesthesia applied to her scalp and skull. As the surgeons implanted electrodes and applied electrical stimulation to specific brain areas, Denise experienced immediate improvement in her finger movements, enabling her to play the clarinet mid-operation. This live playing helped the surgical team fine-tune electrode placement in real-time for optimal motor function improvement. Denise described the moment as life-changing and was delighted by how her hand moved more easily once stimulation began. The DBS procedure, while not a cure, significantly reduced her tremors and rigidity and marked a major step in improving her quality of life and reconnecting with her musical passion.