When Jessica Krauser first noticed stiffness in her leg in 2017, she assumed it was just the result of training for a half marathon. However, this wasn’t the only symptom she was experiencing. While reading at her local church, she struggled to hold the paper in front of her. During a meeting at work, she again noticed a hand tremor that had appeared before.
“My kids would always notice it and ask if I was nervous or scared, but I wasn’t, and thought it was just stress,” says Jessica, now 44 and living in Columbus, Ohio. “Many nights someone would have to rub my calf muscle because it felt like there was a tight knot that I just couldn’t get out.”
Eventually, she realized she needed to tell someone about her symptoms. During a routine visit to her gynaecologist, she casually mentioned them and was advised to see a neurologist.
At the same time, she began finding everyday tasks, including typing and cooking, increasingly difficult. One of her feet had started dragging, and the cold would make her shake uncontrollably.
“I didn’t connect shaking to neurology,” Jessica says. “I was also 35 at that point, and I was thinking, ‘why in the world would I need to see a neurologist?’”
However, after struggling to sit still at dinner on a family holiday as her body was “all over the place,” she eventually decided to book an appointment with a movement disorder specialist.
And two years after her first symptoms began, in 2019, the mum-of-two was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at just 37 years old. Being so young, with the average onset of Parkinson’s typically around 60, Jessica found the experience incredibly alienating.
On the diagnosis, she reflects: “For me, it was a lonely, hopeless feeling that was just as crippling as the disease can be itself. That’s why finding your community and support system is so important.”
This wasn’t helped by the fact some of her symptoms — including the stiffness in her leg she’d attributed to exercise — aren’t always visible.
“My Parkinson’s isn’t always something people can see,” she says. “It was constant and something only I could feel. People tend to think of Parkinson’s as just shaking, but it presents itself in many ways, depending on the person.”
Symptoms of Parkinson’s
According to the Parkinson’s UK website, while symptoms can differ from person to person, common ones include:
Tremors
Rigidity or stiffness
Slowness of movement
Sleep problems
* Pain
The NHS website includes other physical symptoms, such as:
Problems with balance
Changes to sense of smell
Problems going to the toilet
In men, difficulties sustaining an erection or, in women, difficulty becoming aroused
Dizziness and fainting
Intense sweating
* Difficulties with swallowing or overactive production of saliva
Seven years on from receiving answers, Jessica has found a supportive community through her podcast, The Secret Life of Parkinson’s. This has seen her meet others who’ve been diagnosed, and the conversations she’s had as part of this platform have led her towards exploring new treatments.
One of these is DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation), which has been likened to a “pacemaker for the brain,” with an implanted device delivering electrical currents to the regions responsible for controlling movement.
This type of stimulation, which Jessica has been receiving since July 2025, after she successfully underwent surgery to introduce the gadget, can help shape the brain signals that deliver Parkinson’s symptoms.
As Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeon Richard Rammo explains, most patients are offered DBS when initial medication isn’t proving effective. He says: “Most people with Parkinson’s see initial improvement from medications, but for patients like Jessica, some may go on to develop dyskinesia or notice symptom control becomes less consistent over time.”
Following the surgery, when Jessica’s device was switched on, doctors scheduled programming sessions to ensure the stimulation given to her hit the right balance. After her third session, she noticed the biggest difference: her legs no longer felt heavy while she was walking. The tightness and tension that previously kept her from sleeping had disappeared too.
“I found myself just lying in bed in the morning because it felt so nice not to be stiff anymore,” Jessica says. “Before deep brain stimulation, I was either feeling my symptoms, or I was dyskinetic. Something was always going on, and I was constantly thinking about it. Now, my symptoms are so well controlled, I wake up every morning and don’t have to think about Parkinson’s. I’m able to focus on other things, like my family and friends.”
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