Parkinson’s sufferer calls for speedy instalment of neuro rehab team for Cork and Kerry

Ivan O’Regan from Blarney stresses that the team planned for the Cork and Kerry area would also benefit people with other neurological conditions

Ivan (left), who is a father to two young children, says he is able to move all the time after his deep brain stimulation surgery in Dublin just over a year ago. Photo: Gerard McCarthy

A man diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 31 years old is calling for the speedy introduction of a neuro rehabilitation team for the Cork and Kerry region.

Ivan O’Regan from Blarney is currently benefiting from having deep brain stimulation surgery in Dublin just over a year ago — a decade after his diagnosis of early onset Parkinson’s Disease. He was the seventh person in Ireland to undergo the procedure, which involves a battery being inserted into his chest to power two wires going to his brain.