From Shaking to Steady: Jack & Melissa’s Essential Tremor Breakthrough

Jack McGinnis has had shaky hands since he was 12 years old.

He learned to work around it. He put his hands in his lap during sales calls. He turned down a higher-paying casino dealer job in his 20s because he knew he couldn't hold chips steady on a felt-topped table. He adapted, improvised, and quietly accepted that some things were just not going to be possible for him.

His daughter, Melissa, grew up watching that reality and eventually developed the same condition. But her tremor was more severe.

Basic tasks became barriers. She couldn’t apply makeup without jabbing herself in the eye. Cooking a meal that took most people 30 minutes took her three hours. Even routine acts like buttoning her clothes or brushing her teeth required constant effort and frustration.

"Everything was exhausting," Melissa said. "I mean, literally everything."

Both Jack and Melissa McGinnis have essential tremor, a common movement disorder that causes uncontrollable shaking, particularly in the hands. The condition runs in families, and for the McGinnises, it has shaped decades of daily life.

It wasn’t until they came to OU Health, the University of Oklahoma's academic health system, that they found a different path forward, one that would significantly change how they live with the condition moving forward.

What Is Essential Tremor?

Essential tremor is the most common movement disorder in the United States, affecting millions of people. Unlike Parkinson's disease, it causes what doctors call an "action tremor," meaning the shaking occurs during movement rather than at rest. It tends to worsen with anxiety and emotion, creating a feedback loop that makes everyday social situations increasingly difficult.

OU Health clinical nurse specialist Miki Thompson, DNP, APRN-CNS, who works exclusively with essential tremor and Parkinson's disease patients, said the condition is often dismissed as something people can simply live with. But for many patients, that framing misses the full picture.

"It robs you of your life," said Thompson. "You really can't live with it."

Currently, there is no known cause and no permanent cure, but treatments range from medications to surgery. For patients whose tremors do not respond to medication, options historically required either accepting the condition or undergoing deep brain stimulation, an invasive procedure involving brain implants.

A New Option, Now in Oklahoma

Focused ultrasound has changed that calculation.

The procedure, which arrived at OU Health in 2023, uses targeted sound-wave energy to ablate (or destroy) a small area of brain tissue responsible for the tremor. Patients are awake throughout the process. There is no incision, and the results are often immediate.

The neurosurgery team at OU Health uses what is considered one of the defining advantages of the technology: test doses. Before full-dose ablation occurs, clinicians deliver low-energy pulses to the target area to confirm tremor control and monitor for side effects. If the results are not right, they adjust.

"We do not treat if we cannot get rid of the tremor [without] side effects," Thompson said. "So, the success rate is very high."

There are limitations. The procedure is currently performed on one side of the brain at a time and is primarily used to treat tremors. It also does not cure the underlying disease, meaning tremors can return over time. Relief, however, may last anywhere from several months to a few years. For patients who have spent decades adapting their lives around a condition few people fully understand, even partial or temporary improvement can be significant.

OU Health is the only hospital in Oklahoma offering focused ultrasound for essential tremor, making it a meaningful option for patients who previously faced long trips to Dallas or Kansas City for treatment.

A Father Follows His Daughter's Lead

Melissa was treated first. She had heard about the procedure and decided to pursue it. Her father, Jack, came along to watch.

"When you can change that much in your life, to where you can actually work on a computer … it's a big deal," Jack said. "I saw how much it helped her, and I decided to do it too."

Both McGinnises went through the procedure at OU Health and said the care they received was thorough and reassuring from the start.

Melissa said the most intimidating-sounding part — a lightweight frame secured to the head before treatment — was far less alarming than it sounds. What she remembers most is the care team's willingness to explain every step and the immediate improvement she felt.

Today, she can brush her teeth without struggling. She can put on makeup without fear. Her right side is largely steady; her left side, which was also treated, has vastly improved.

"Nothing [is] like it was before," she said. “This has changed everything about our life.”

Thompson, who has built her career working with these patients, said watching that kind of transformation never gets old.

"This is the most gratifying part of my career," she said. "It gives people their life back."

For Oklahoma families living with essential tremor, that option is now close to home.

To learn more about OU Health’s movement disorders program, visit the OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center — Neurosurgery Clinic or call (572) 244-0034