Rebecca Crews Beats Parkinson's Tremors With Sound Waves

When Terry Crews found his wife Rebecca kneeling beside their bed after three sleepless nights, praying for relief from her Parkinson's symptoms, he knew he had to act fast. That morning last July, he showed her something that would change everything: news about a newly FDA-approved treatment using sound waves to treat her condition.

Rebecca Crews has been living with Parkinson's disease since 2015, though her symptoms started four years earlier. The 60-year-old mother of five noticed her left toes going numb while biking, then her leg began dragging, and eventually tremors took over her life.

For years, doctors couldn't explain what was happening. Her husband Terry, the former NFL player and America's Got Talent host, watched helplessly as his wife tried to tough it out alone.

When a neurologist finally connected the dots in 2015, Rebecca refused to accept it at first. She turned to her faith and started medications to replace dopamine levels, but the side effects brought nausea and severe insomnia.

Then came the cancer diagnosis in 2019 and a double mastectomy in 2020. Through it all, Rebecca kept fighting, pouring energy into her online church, podcast, and clothing boutique.

But Terry never stopped researching. After a decade of following new treatments, he found focused ultrasound therapy, a non-invasive procedure that directs sound waves into the brain to stop tremors.

Eight months after that desperate morning, Rebecca traveled to Stanford Hospital for the groundbreaking treatment. She's one of fewer than 100 patients to use this cutting-edge therapy, which drastically reduced her uncontrollable shaking.

Why This Inspires

Dr. Vivek Buch, the assistant professor of neurosurgery at Stanford who performed the procedure, says Rebecca did it as much for others as herself. She's moving the field forward so nearly a million Americans living with Parkinson's can benefit from this new hope.

Rebecca returns to Stanford in October to have the treatment performed on her left side. After 16 years of silence, she's finally going public with one clear purpose: to offer uplifting information to others who are suffering.

Terry sums up their journey simply: "We're going through this together." And now, thanks to sound wave technology and one husband's tireless research, they're going through it with renewed hope.