Rebecca King-Crews is shining a light on a condition that impacts millions of people globally. During a candid appearance on Today, Rebecca, wife of actor and TV host Terry Crews, revealed she has been living with Parkinson’s disease since 2015.
“I feel good,” King-Crews said during the segment with Today. “I’m able to write my name and my dates, and I’m able to write with my right hand for the first time in probably three years.”
Crews recently underwent a newly-approved non-invasive surgery—a bilateral focused ultrasound—to help manage the symptoms she’s experiencing. Some common manifestations of the disease include tremors, slow movement, balance difficulties, small handwriting, sleep disorders, speech changes, and loss of smell, among others.
Symptoms first surfaced around 2012 for King-Crews, but she wasn’t officially diagnosed by a Parkinson’s specialist until 2015. Numbness in her left foot, which transitioned into a limp and tremors, were some of her early symptoms. For years, those symptoms were brushed off as anxiety by a neurologist until she finally got real answers.
Of all the symptoms, she found the tremors most frustrating because they made daily tasks like putting on makeup and brushing her teeth challenging.
Despite her diagnosis, King-Crews is determined to keep living fully. She has worked on a book, an album, and a clothing line amid the diagnosis.
“Just keep going. And that’s what I’m going to keep doing,” she said. “I believe that you don’t lay down and die because you got a diagnosis.”
Post-surgery, the 60-year-old is no longer experiencing right-sided tremors, and her balance has improved. She’ll be getting the procedure again in September to address the left side of her body.
“Part of the procedure is improved symptoms, so you’re improved on one side (but) not on the other,” she explained. “However, each day that I do things, I’m aware of the benefit that’s already been to me on the one side of the body. So I’m looking forward to doing the left side.”
In terms of how the procedure works, doctors use a device called an Exablate Neuro to deliver ultrasound waves to select areas on both sides of the brain. MRI then focuses on areas that are believed to cause movement symptoms in Parkinson’s.
Meanwhile, the mom and wife has been staying active, engaging in activities like playing the piano, driving and attending an acting class.
Terry Crews, who was also present during the interview, said he got “choked up just thinking about it” regarding his wife being able to write her name for the first time in years.
He has been a rock for his wife as she navigates this diagnosis, and he is taking his vows seriously.
“When they say sickness and health, this is the battle that we were designed to fight together,” he said. “Where she’s weak, I’m strong. Where I’m weak, she’s strong. And we built each other up like that for almost 37 years and all the way to forever.”
King-Crews is ready to share her story now because she wants to raise awareness about the surgery, which isn’t yet accessible through insurance.
“I wanted to potentially make it more available to others, because it’s an expensive surgery, it’s not covered (by insurance) yet,” she said. “And (I want) to give hope to people with Parkinson’s, because I believe that we’re going to find the cure.”