Neurology Patient Stories

Patient stories about Neurology

October 6, 2023

Little Rock Man Grateful For ‘Remarkable’ UAMS Stroke Team

Kaitlin Barger

Cam Deacon (right) with his wife, Lauren, and their two children.

The morning of Wednesday, March 15, started out like any other day for Cam Deacon.

During his morning shower, he suddenly knew that something was wrong.


September 16, 2022

New Cooking Class at UAMS Helps Parkinson’s Patients Learn to Manage Tremors in the Kitchen

Linda Satter

Darwinda Terwilliger, seated, and daughter Jacqueline Terwilliger, enjoy the cooking and the social interaction.

|From slicing onions to boiling eggs to removing a sheet of perfectly browned vegetables from the oven, cooking when you have Parkinson’s disease and don’t move as gracefully as you once did can be challenging. But it can also be necessary, therapeutic and for many, just plain fun. For all those reasons, as well as…


August 12, 2022

Piggott Man Remembers “Everything” About Stroke, Including Caregivers’ Kindness

Benjamin Waldrum

Tate and Cale

Freddie Tate, 85, of Piggott, worked around helicopters during his time in the U.S. Air Force, but it wasn’t until March 5, 2021, when he suffered a stroke, that he rode in one for the first time. “I spent four years in the Air Force and we had all kinds of helicopters, but I’d never…


April 20, 2022

Art for Parkinson’s Workshops Provide Fun, Education, Social Interaction

Linda Satter

John Helmcamp, left, shows his artwork to Suzanne Dhall.

|As the music began, about 15 people sitting around large round tables picked up watercolor pencils and let the symphonic sounds guide their hands as they applied colorful streaks and patterns across plain white poster board. Some made bold, jagged marks while others sculpted gentle curves. Some used dark colors; others, pastels or brights. They…


May 21, 2021

Monticello Man Grateful for More Family Time after Stroke Recovery

Katrina Dupins

Bill Whiting, Monticello

Bill Whiting, 67, of Monticello doesn’t remember a lot about what happened to him on Aug. 9, 2020. But he does know he called his wife. “He was mumbling,” Mary Whiting said. “I couldn’t understand what he was saying. I told him I’m on my way home.” She arrived within 10 minutes to find their…


March 19, 2021

UAMS Neurosurgeon Performs State’s First Deep Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy

Katrina Dupins

Palys shows image

The UAMS Epilepsy Center is the first in Arkansas to perform deep brain stimulation surgery as a treatment for epilepsy. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for epilepsy is designed to help manage seizures in patients who have not responded to medication. DBS, which is a type of neuromodulation, has been used primarily for patients with movement…


November 19, 2019

Sherwood Man Back on Track after Botox for Painful Neck Condition

ChaseYavondaC

Calhoun and Dr. Lotia

Two years ago, James Calhoun was out of work, his neck twisting painfully to one side because of a neurological condition called dystonia. Today, he’s working in health care, finishing up an associate’s degree and applying to nursing school — his life back on track. Calhoun, 35, of Sherwood has been living with uncontrollable muscle…


November 12, 2019

Bhawna Jha, M.D., Joins UAMS as Interventional Pain Management Specialist

Linda Haymes

Bhawna Jha, M.D.

LITTLE ROCK — Interventional pain management specialist Bhawna Jha, M.D., has joined the Department of Neurology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and sees patients in the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute. She also is an assistant professor in UAMS College of Medicine Department of Neurology.   Before coming to…


October 7, 2019

UAMS Pain Study Device Gets Amputee off the Couch

David Robinson

Jared Jackson (left), at his final study visit at UAMS, with Davis Fleming, M.D.,a Translational Research Institute research coordinator.

A year ago, Jared Jackson, 40, was spending a lot of time sitting or lying around. But not because he was lazy; his right leg had been amputated below the knee in 2011, and the pain was almost too much to take. In fact, sometimes he passed out. “My pain started about a month after…


May 2, 2019

Study May Bring Options for Children with Tourette Syndrome

ChaseYavondaC

McAlister posing for photo with family

Barrett McAlister hopes an ongoing clinical trial at UAMS can help establish a new treatment for Tourette syndrome in children so they can focus on being kids, playing and learning, without worrying about being “different.” “If they’ve got a chance at a normal life, I say take it,” McAlister said. “Take it with both hands.”…



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