Kirk Neff in his gym.
It was a moment Kirk will never forget: on a shoot at Toronto Western Hospital, he met world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Mojgan Hodaie. As he put the microphone on her, she saw his trembling hands and simply said, “I can fix that.”
As a cinematographer and storyteller, Kirk has spent more than 30 years telling other people’s stories. Last month, one of his colleagues, Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National news Omar Sachedina, produced a three-part series telling the story of how Kirk underwent life-changing surgery to address his essential tremor disorder.
Kirk is suffering from a neurological condition called Essential Tremor disorder which causes uncontrollable shaking during activities requiring fine motor skills such as writing, eating or in Kirk’s case, shooting a video. Although not as well-known as Parkinson’s disease, Kirk has learned that there are a lot of people quietly living with this condition.
A gifted athlete, Kirk noticed trembling in his hands at sixteen years of age. It didn’t prevent him from earning a foot-ball scholarship to the US, which he never pursued after getting sidetracked by his eventual career in broadcasting. Over the years there were many attempts to pinpoint a diagnosis and find an effective treatment. Last year at age 55, Kirk knew his shaking was getting worse. He career working as an award-winning videographer, most recently as the Director of Photography and Cinematographer at CTV National News might soon be in jeopardy. His job required him to get the shot at that critical moment when there was rarely an option for a second take.
Over the years Kirk had developed ways to manage the shaking. At first, the weight of the camera controlled much of the jiggling. He also devised work-around techniques to still the equipment, including moving the camera with elastic bands for panoramic shots. The mental, physical and emotional effort required to hold his hands still was exhausting. Kirk often made jokes to cover his embarrassment, particularly as he struggled to place microphones on the people he was about to film.
The surgeon’s offer was compelling: if she could steady his hands, he could continue doing what he loved. He spent the months before the surgery getting into the best shape of his life, a challenge made more convenient by the fact that his wife operates a gym in their basement in the Highlands subdivision. Through the process he lost sixty pounds and gained strength and confidence that facilitated his recovery.
The night before the surgery, he was planning for the worst, putting his house in order, considering the risk of brain surgery. Kirk was awake for the five-hour procedure where an electrode was planted in his brain near the network of nerves responsible for Kirk’s shakes. A pacemaker was then planted in his chest to regulate the tremors with an electrical charge called deep brain simulation.
The following day, Kirk could lift a cup of soup with his left hand without spilling it. The pacemaker was not yet connected to the electrode in his brain, but the swelling controlled the tremors. Kirk describes a deep sense of relief washing over him as he saw a new future ahead. The connection was made six weeks later. One hand down, one to go. The operation on his right hand is scheduled for January.
Kirk knows what to expect and he has high expectations for his next round of recovery, as he has signed up to compete in a fitness competition in Toronto in June.
The surgeon’s skill is only part of the explanation for Kirk’s transformation: he made the most of the opportunity she provided by ensuring he was ready. The results are a testament to the power of perseverance and commitment and how fitness can help us cope with the physical, mental and emotional challenges we face every day.