Brian Donnellan has been hailed for his appearance on an Irish TV talk show where he demonstrated the significant impact of deep brain stimulations on his condition

Irish Parkinson’s patient Brian Donnellan appeared on Claire Byrne Live in Ireland to bravely demonstrate the significant impact of the deep brain stimulation treatment he receives.

Read More: Irish drug cures Parkinson’s in mice, gets Michael J. Fox backing

While on the show, Donnellan volunteered to show the immediate effect of switching off his handheld deep brain stimulation device.

Donnellan said that he’d “probably be in a wheelchair” if it weren’t for the treatment.

Parkinson's patient shows the impact of deep brain stimulation

Speaking on Claire Byrne Live, Brian Donnellan, who has Parkinson's disease, shows the dramatic effect of turning off his deep brain stimulation unit, which controls his Parkinson's symptoms. The units are made in Clonmel but are not available in Ireland.

Publiée par RTÉ One sur Lundi 15 avril 2019

The deep brain stimulation units that patients like Donnellan use are manufactured in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, but they are not available in Ireland.

Read More: Galway scientists find collagen implant brain fix for Parkinson’s sufferers

Fianna Fail's health spokesperson TD Stephen Donnelly hailed Donnellan and his demonstration on Claire Byrne Live as "brave:" 

Extremely powerful and extraordinarily brave https://t.co/I5sbEgfAl4

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) April 15, 2019

TD Donnelly said: "Last week I met people with Parkinson's. They were protesting outside the Dáil to try and raise awareness - it was World Parkinson's Day.”

If anyone’s wondering why @ParkinsonsIre has resorted to protesting outside the Dáil here’s your answer... there are only 5 Parkinson’s specialist nurses in Ireland. 3 in Dublin, 2 for the rest of the whole country. But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Martina... pic.twitter.com/cgljEu8fnN

— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) April 11, 2019

"They're dealing with an awful lot,” TD Donnelly said. “The supports they have available from the state are very little.”

"So what we want to see is the proper supports put in place, which should be done and I think could be done quite easily.”

"We only have five specialist nurse practitioners in the entire Republic, three of them based in Dublin."

Read More: Italian doctor finds cure for Parkinson's disease in Irish dancing