72-Year-Old's Parkinson's Tremor Stops in Seconds

Bud Levell watched his right hand tremble as he tried to repair a vintage radio, the work he'd loved his entire life slipping away with every shake.

The 72-year-old retired salesman and Air Force veteran had spent decades fixing old radios, machines, and anything with wires. But Parkinson's disease slowly robbed him of the steady hands his craft demanded.

Levell first noticed something was wrong 11 or 12 years ago when he lost his sense of smell, typically the disease's earliest warning sign. Then came the tremors in his right hand, especially under stress.

Everything changed when someone texted him a magazine article about a new ultrasound treatment. "I read it and said, 'This sounds good,'" Levell recalled.

That link led him to UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where doctors determined he was an ideal candidate for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound. The FDA recently approved an expanded version of the treatment targeting tremors and slowed movement.

Dr. Bhavya R. Shah, who leads the focused ultrasound program at UT Southwestern, explained the procedure uses high energy to destroy small nerve bundles deep in the brain. The target area is incredibly precise, about the size of a single grain of rice.

The best part? No incisions required. "We're navigating to a future where therapies of the brain may be incisionless," Shah said.

For Levell, the results were instantaneous. When doctors asked how his tremor felt immediately after the procedure, his answer was simple: "What tremor?"

The moment overwhelmed him with emotion. "It felt good. It felt really nice to be able to say that," he said, demonstrating his newly steady hand.

Why This Inspires

After nine years away from his workbench, Levell has returned to repairing radios. The hobby he feared he'd lost forever is now part of his daily life again.

His journey offers hope to the millions living with Parkinson's disease. While Levell doesn't know why his path included this challenge, he's chosen to face it with faith and determination.

"Does God have a plan for me with Parkinson's? Yeah," he said. "What is it? I don't know, but I'm going to depend on God. I'm going to live as well as I can."

His steady hands are proof that medical innovation continues opening doors once thought permanently closed.