Five-year-old Emory patient Ka’ Marion Hammond reaches out to touch the keyboards being drawn in by the music of Bruce Gilbert playing in the lobby of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com
Bruce Gilbert penned those words in his journal last December as the uncontrollable shakes and jerks he had suffered in his arms and legs for a decade began to diminish.
In 2005, Doctors diagnosed the Atlanta singer-songwriter with Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neurological disorder that gradually erodes people’s abilities to control their movements and speech. Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer from the brain disorder, including celebrities like actor Michael J. Fox and boxing great Muhammad Ali.
Six months ago, Bruce’s friends wondered whether each of his performances might be his last. But a surgery performed at Emory University Hospital has allowed Bruce, 66, to take the stage once again.
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