A Hookstown, Beaver County, woman had to put her life on hold after her Tourette syndrome symptoms dominated her life. Now, a year after her surgery, her life is back on track and going in the right direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Decorations are coming together for Abigail Bailey’s wedding, but the story for this day took her to rock bottom before she could start thinking about celebrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bailey was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome when she was 3 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Constant pain, just agony, depression,” she said. “It was awful.”<\/p>\n
It was rough during middle school, but it got better in high school. After graduation, it got worse.<\/p>\n
“It just got so bad to the point where I couldn’t even live my life. I couldn’t be independent. I couldn’t do anything. My Tourette’s always came first,” Bailey said.<\/p>\n
She would have broken bones, torn ligaments and bruises. Bailey had seen doctors before and taken medication after medication, but nothing gave long-term help. It reached a fever pitch in late 2024, as she was forced to move back in with her parents, quit her job and postpone her wedding.<\/p>\n
“I physically could not perform my job, nor could I even drive. I couldn’t even drive, my tics were so bad,” Bailey said.<\/p>\n
She went to the hospital and learned she had sepsis. It was at this point that she decided to do deep-brain stimulation.<\/p>\n
“It scared me. It really did. That’s what kind of made me want to get the surgery because I was scared,” Bailey said.<\/p>\n
Deep brain stimulation is when an implanted device helps send signals to the brain. It’s used for conditions like Parkinson’s, but hasn’t been as widely used for Tourette’s.<\/p>\n
Dr. Don Whiting with Allegheny Health Network has been doing deep-brain stimulation since 1997. He said it’s like a pacemaker for the brain and can be adjusted based on symptoms.<\/p>\n
“So as the disease progresses, you can still recapture symptom control without any further surgery,” Whiting said.<\/p>\n
Whiting says Allegheny General Hospital sees about two to three of these surgeries a week. He felt this was ideal for Bailey.<\/p>\n
“She turned out to be an excellent candidate for deep brain stimulation,” Whiting said.<\/p>\n
After being bedridden for months, Bailey got a two-part surgery last March. It wasn’t instantaneous, but after a couple of months, Bailey’s world changed for the better.<\/p>\n
“Two months later, I started seeing a decrease in stuff, and it was amazing,” Bailey said.<\/p>\n
Now she’s working at her old job, out of her parents’ house and planning a wedding while finishing her bachelor’s degree in health care administration at Robert Morris University.<\/p>\n
“You’re giving that family back their child, their life,” Whiting said. “You’re just changing the whole trajectory of their future.”<\/p>\n
“I got my life back,” Bailey said. “I couldn’t be more thankful and grateful for everything.”<\/p>\n
The next big challenge is getting out the save-the-dates and wedding invitations, but for Bailey, it’s nothing compared to what she’s already overcome.<\/p>\n