Terry Crews' wife, Rebecca King Crews, has revealed that she has been secretly battling Parkinson's disease since 2015.
The couple appeared on the Today show on Monday to talk about King Cruz's diagnosis and share details about a newly approved non-invasive surgical procedure she recently underwent to manage the symptoms of the disease, a central nervous system disorder that primarily affects a person's motor function.
King-Cruz, 60, said he has been battling Parkinson's disease for the past 10 years. Her first symptoms appeared around 2012, starting with numbness in her left leg during workouts.
“Around 2012,[I]felt a slight numbness in my left leg. Then my trainer noticed that I couldn't swing my arms when I walked,” King-Cruise recalled. “I woke up one morning and my hands were shaking. I said, 'I'm shaking.'
She also said that she went to apply lip gloss one morning and noticed that her hands were shaking. She said she knew it was a tremor “because my grandmother was feeling it.”
The fashion designer said doctors thought she “had anxiety,” but a neurologist “didn't know what was going on.”
“No disrespect to him, but I asked for an introduction and I got one,” she told Today's Craig Melvin. “It took three years to diagnose me.”
King Cruz said he was still working on his books, albums and clothing line during his diagnosis.
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“Just keep going, that’s what I’m going to keep doing,” she said. “I believe that just because you get a diagnosis, you’re not going to lie down and die.”
After three years of symptoms, King-Cruz was officially diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2015. Parkinson's disease gradually damages parts of a person's brain, resulting in a number of symptoms, including tremors, slow movements, and stiff and inflexible muscles. There is no cure.
After undergoing a non-invasive treatment called bilateral focused ultrasound, King-Cruz said she felt “better” and had some of her symptoms alleviated.
During surgery, ultrasound waves are sent to specific areas on each side of the brain and guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to target areas thought to be involved in Parkinson's disease motor symptoms, according to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research.
“I feel great. I can write my name and the date, and I've been able to write with my right hand for probably the first time in three years,” King-Cruise said after her recent surgery.
“I can do a pol de bras with my right foot while balancing on my right foot,” she said of the ballet move. “I'm seeing improvement in my symptoms. I'm still recovering. I've been told it will take about three months to recover. As I recover, I'll see more improvement.”
King-Cruise is scheduled to undergo a second surgery in September to address symptoms such as numbness and tremors on the left side of her body.
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“To be honest, I'm still thinking about it, because part of the surgery is to improve the symptoms,” King-Cruise said of his current health. “So you're getting better on one side, but not on the other, so you can be a little more aware of the other side.”
King-Cruise said after choosing to keep her diagnosis private for 10 years, she decided to share her story now to spread awareness.
“I don’t believe in telling my story just to get people to know my story and sympathize with me,” she said. “I truly believe that this procedure and others like it are a new frontier in medicine.”
“I'm excited about the possibilities. It's an expensive surgery, so I wanted to make it more available to others to give hope to people with Parkinson's disease, because I believe we can find a cure.”
King-Cruise's husband said he hopes the new treatment is “the beginning of a cure.”
“It's been very, very difficult to watch what she's been through over the last 10 to 12 years,” he said. “I'm shaking, I can't sleep, I'm off balance. I don't know what to say as I watch her write her name for the first time in three years. Just thinking about it takes my breath away.”
Cruz said he knew his wife was “a superhero” when “she had already been through cancer and beat it.”
“In sickness and in health, this is a battle we were designed to fight together. We've been building each other up that way for almost 37 years and forever,” he added.
According to Parkinson's Canada, more than 120,000 people in Canada have Parkinson's disease.
The group says there is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, but medications can help manage symptoms, and therapies such as physical therapy, speech therapy and exercise can play an important role in improving quality of life.
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