{"id":29577,"date":"2017-03-21T17:25:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fusfoundation-redesign.storywaredev.com\/?post_type=sw_profile&p=29577"},"modified":"2025-02-27T22:00:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T02:00:43","slug":"sunny-berry","status":"publish","type":"sw_profile","link":"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/profiles\/sunny-berry\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunny Berry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Outlook is \u201cSunny\u201d for Artist Treated with Focused Ultrasound<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For most of her life, Michigan resident Kristin \u201cSunny\u201d Berry was able to manage her tremors enough to continue her beloved artistic hobbies.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Sunny<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI had suffered with ET since I was 7 years old, and it has now been more than 50 years,\u201d says Sunny. The condition runs deep in her family, with her grandmother, father, and closest uncle all affected. \u201cEating was a total nightmare \u2013 in my thirties, I started using two hands to eat, and I couldn\u2019t eat with strangers. It was unpleasant and embarrassing. I was damaging my gums when brushing my teeth. I became extremely good at hiding \u2013 I hid my hands a lot, but the tremor in my jaw and neck was harder to hide, especially when I was nervous or self-conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 10 years ago, her shaking had become so uncontrollable that she was forced to stop many of her creative pursuits \u2013 penmanship, drawing, and most of her painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking Relief with Focused Ultrasound<\/strong>
With her tremor at debilitating levels, Sunny started to assess her options. She attended a deep brain stimulation seminar at the University of Michigan, but \u201cI didn\u2019t like the idea of someone cutting into my head, and the risk of infection with having an open wound was scary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunny learned about focused ultrasound while seeking solutions on the website of a patient advocacy group, the International Essential Tremor Foundation<\/a> (IETF). She saw that focused ultrasound was available at Ohio State and scheduled a meeting with the medical team, including neurosurgeon Dr. Vibhor Krishna. \u201cWhen I finished speaking with him and he left the room, I broke down in tears. I couldn\u2019t believe that I would have this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her focused ultrasound procedure was April 14, 2016. She says that she was a bit nervous before the procedure, and was not looking forward to shaving her head (a requirement of the procedure). Her partner, Will, also shaved his head in support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, she found the procedure was generally painless. \u201cThey were taking me out during treatment intervals to test my writing,\u201d she shares. \u201cIt was fascinating to watch my own handwriting progress in a matter of minutes between each treatment. Toward the very end of my treatment there was some discomfort, so a very kind technician came in and held my hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Sunny<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Life after Focused Ultrasound<\/strong>
Sunny says she now has 85 percent steadiness in her right (dominant) hand, and that her left hand has improved about 20 percent as well. [Focused ultrasound results in an immediate reduction of tremor; the procedure is currently only being done to relieve tremor from one side of the body, typically in the dominant hand.] Her head tremor is also better. She is grateful for the procedure. \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t gotten it done, I probably wouldn\u2019t be able to feed myself in a couple years\u2014or brush my teeth and button my clothes. All of the fine skills would be lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, 11 months after the procedure, Sunny reports that the tremor has not returned, and she is more optimistic about the future. \u201cI\u2019m doing things that I haven\u2019t done in years, including drawing and painting. My hand is now steady \u2013 it doesn\u2019t shake. I look at it and think there is a big part of my life that is just fine. I look at my hand and say, life is good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To view more about Sunny\u2019s experience with focused ultrasound, see Dr. Elizabeth Healey\u2019s episode of \u201cThe Cure\u201d<\/a> on the Al Jazeera English news network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"sw_profile_cat":[303],"class_list":["post-29577","sw_profile","type-sw_profile","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSunny Berry - Focused Ultrasound Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fusfoundation.org\/profiles\/sunny-berry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunny Berry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Outlook is \u201cSunny\u201d for Artist Treated with Focused Ultrasound For most of her life, Michigan resident Kristin \u201cSunny\u201d Berry was able to manage her tremors enough to continue her beloved artistic hobbies. \u201cI had suffered with ET since I was 7 years old, and it has now been more than 50 years,\u201d says Sunny. 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