Mark Honeyman, a retired Bloomfield Hills English teacher, had his three‑year‑old deep brain stimulation (DBS) implant replaced recently by Dr. Danika Paulo at Henry Ford Health. Honeyman first received DBS in 2022 to treat severe essential tremor and says the replacement restored control of everyday tasks.

Honeyman described tremor that began in adolescence and worsened over decades. He said medication stopped helping and routine actions like eating and writing became difficult. "I was 61 or so, and I was sitting at the kitchen counter, and I was trying to eat a bowl of cereal, and I couldn’t get the spoon into my mouth," he told a local reporter.

The original DBS procedure in 2022 took about six to seven hours, followed by placement of a chest battery and device activation. Dr. Paulo, a functional neurosurgeon who has performed multiple DBS procedures, performed the recent battery replacement. She noted essential tremor affects millions and is "six to seven times more prevalent than Parkinson's disease," a comparison she made in the interview.

Honeyman said DBS changed his daily life. "It has not only given my body back, but it has given the world back to me," he said, adding that the surgery removed limitations on activities he wanted to do. He retired from the Bloomfield Hills School District in 2019 after 35 years of teaching.

As Essential Tremor Awareness Month concluded in March, Honeyman’s story reached a wider audience through a short documentary titled "Still Honeyman," which follows his decision to undergo DBS and his recovery. He has become an active voice for others living with the condition.

Photo credit: ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com

Tags: essential tremor, deep brain stimulation, Henry Ford Health, movement disorder, neurosurgery

Topics: Deep brain stimulation, Neuromodulation, Neuroprosthetics & neural implants