For 15 years, Cecilia O'Connor's body shook uncontrollably, the awful legacy of Parkinson's disease.
But after an eight-hour operation to implant an electrode into her brain, her hands remain at rest in her lap as she relaxes in her Valley Heights home.
"I went to see my surgeon recently and I cried," Mrs O'Connor said. "I said, 'thank you for giving me back my life'. He said, 'I want to see you again in three months and after that I don't want to see you at all'."
She is so delighted with the effects of the surgery that Mrs O'Connor has helped arrange for two experts to give a free talk about the treatment - deep brain stimulation - to educate others in the Mountains.
During her operation at Royal North Shore private hospital, surgeons cut the top of Mrs O'Connor's head along her forehead and down beside her ear (more than 40 staples were used to sew her back up). A very thin wire lead was implanted into her brain and an extension wire inserted along her neck, down the front of her chest and to her stomach, where a battery-operated device called a neurostimulator was implanted under the skin.
The device, similar to a heart pacemaker and about the size of a stopwatch, delivers electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement. These block the abnormal nerve signals that cause the tremors of Parkinson's.
After the operation, she was a changed woman. No longer do her arms and legs shake. No longer do the tremors in her body cause her to slide off her chair when trying to eat meals. No longer does she drop food on her clothes as she tries to feed herself.
And if she feels a bit slow in the morning, the neurostimulator can be adjusted to give a stronger signal.
Mrs O'Connor said she didn't realise how bad her condition had become until she saw a before and after video of herself.
"I'm so happy that I had it done," she said. "I just can't believe what's happened. My friend across the road cried when she saw me because she didn't believe I could be so good."
Her husband, Robert, said her friends at the local cafe can't believe she is able to have a cuppa with them without sliding off her chair, which used to happen regularly.
The free talk on deep brain stimulation will be held on Wednesday, August 12, from 11am-1.30pm at Springwood Sports Club. The guest speakers will be neurosurgeon Dr Raymond Cook and neurologist Dr Paul Silverstein. The meeting is sponsored by medical supply company Medtronic.
Please RSVP to Cecilia on 0432 093 441.