A RETIRED man who suffers from Parkinson's disease has undergone radical brain surgery to combat the disease and he was wide awake throughout the operation. Clive Ruddy, 62, of Rockside Road, Thurlstone, has suffered with the disease for more than 15 years. The £30,000 operation includes electrodes being pushed into the brain and the patient moving their arms and legs to ensure they have control of their body, meaning they have to be conscious. Clive's disease started with a frozen shoulder and arthritis but as it progressed he had to give up his driving licence and was forced to retire in 2001. He thought about having the operation then but after the procedure was explained he said he was too scared. Clive, a former welder, said: “I went to see a top doctor in Birmingham but I was terrified and changed my mind. But it got to the stage where I had no control over my body and was shaking all the time. I knew I had to do it." Clive had to undergo a 12 month trial period and a psychiatric examination before he was put forward for the operation at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield. He described how his head was numbed and bolts were drilled into his skull. He was then clamped to the operating table so he could not move his head. The operation took surgeons a painstaking five hours to complete during which time Clive was asked to move his hands and feet to check the electrodes were working. He said: "My head was numb but I could feel everything else. They peeled the skin back and started drilling, I could hear the bones cracking. It was terrifying but once it was over I went straight to sleep I was exhausted." Doctors say the swelling could take six weeks to go down and then his medication will have to be adjusted but Clive said he already feels 100 per cent better. He said: "It really makes you appreciate what you've got. I could hardly walk before the operation, I had problems sleeping and I couldn't sit still and watch the TV. I get so emotional when I think about what they've done for me, my life is my own again now. "It is a shame so few operations get done because of how expensive it is. The NHS gets a lot of stick but all the staff were fantastic, I felt I was in safe hands." Clive weighed less than ten stone before he had the operation because of his constant shaking. He has now put on nearly two stones and is a much healthier weight. He is looking forward to getting back to his beloved hobbies of painting and fishing when the new season starts in March as well as taking a well earned break to Australia in April for four weeks. "There were so many things I couldn't do before I had the operation. It has changed my life completely," Clive said.
