Dr. Oz Radio Interview

Our founder, Beka, has had the opportunity to work with Dr. Oz in the Cardiac-Thoracic Unit at Columbia-New Presbyterian Hospital, delivering nursing care to his patients. She first approached him 9 years ago with the possibility of exploring dystonia on the air - but no success until September 2007! With perseverance and determination, she did not give up on pursuing her goal of being “On the Air” with Dr. Oz, recognizing the impact it would have on dystonia awareness. Luckily, Dr. Oz knew about Bekas’ struggles with dystonia and having read both Moving series books, he celebrated them by saying, “You tell your story very well. Phenomenal writing.”

Beka invited her neurosurgeon, and now C4D’s Medical Advisor, Dr. Michael Kaplitt, M.D., PhD to join her on the radio show “Oprah and Friends - Dr. Oz” to discuss the implications of dystonia and Deep Brain Stimulation. Dr. Oz reentered movement disorders in March 2009 with a focus on PD and Dystonia on The Oprah Show.

About Dr. Mehmet Oz, M.D:

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Heart Surgeon with a Big Heart
The Turkish Times

More Information :

About Beka and Dr. Kaplitt for more info on this dynamic team.

About Dystonia:
Visit our Dystonia Webpage

Our Press Release:
Press(Pdf Format)

Audience Reach: 6 million listeners on XM Satellite Radio with rintroduction as a virallling segment after March 2009; thus increasing even higher audience levels and awareness of the disorder.

Air Date : Feb 27, 2008 7am, 6pm, 1am EST

The segment aired 3 times on Feb 27th, 2008 on XM Radio Satellite 156. Instructions for gaining access to the XM Radio segment are on the Oprah site.

“Beka Serdans, RN has served in the ICU alongside Dr. Oz and talks about how she has battled through dystonia, a neurological disorder. Dr. Mike Kaplitt, MD, PhD focuses on DBS and gene therapy. Dr. Oz, Lisa and Dr. Roizen also take your calls and answer your questions when it comes to living your best life.“
~ Harpo, Inc.

To Purchase a Copy of the Oz Segment on DVD :
Dr. Oz CDs are available now for purchase at ONLY $20.00 a piece. This includes shipping and packaging. Please visit our Dr. Oz webpage to learn more about the interview. The CDs cannot be duplicated or “dubbed”. DVD copies cannot be duplicted according to US Copyright Law. Simply write to infoc4d@aol.com with your name, number of CD quantities desired and send the appropriate monies to us via US check. We will take care of shipping and packaging costs.

The Players of “On Air with Dr. Oz” Nov 2nd, 2007 at 7:00 AM EST

The Interview : Summary by Harpo, Inc.

For more than 20 years, Beka Serdans has
suffered from a rare neurological movement disorder called dystonia.
Beka, an intensive care nurse who often works with Dr. Oz,
self-diagnosed herself with the disorder and is now seeking treatment
from neurosurgeon Dr. Mike Kaplitt. Beka and Dr. Kaplitt talk with Dr.
Oz about the disorder and its symptoms.

Beka says she was a teenager when the first symptoms of dystonia
appeared, including a chronic hoarse voice. Then, facial ticks and
weakness of the neck muscles began bothering her and progressed over
time. Her body’s abnormal movements and twisting—similar to Parkinson’s
disease—and incredible pain were almost too much to handle, Beka says.
“Most people are disabled, depressed, isolated, and it is horrible,”
she says. “It’s a horrible disease really because it ruins lives, ruins
goals. It ruins hopes and dreams—really everything, your essential
being.”

Beka says she was faced with doctors who tried to tell her the
symptoms were stress related or all in her head. After her
self-diagnosis, Beka eventually turned to dystonia expert Dr. Kaplitt,
who surgically implanted a pacemaker-type device deep into Beka’s
brain. “It sends little electrical pulses into targeted areas of the
brain to try to change the electrical firing or information flow in
circuits of the brain,” Dr. Kaplitt says.

Beka says the procedure was intense but a positive experience, and
so far the device is helping to control symptoms of the disorder. “It’s
a long procedure; people are often unprepared for it,” she says. “[But]
I knew I went in with high expectations, almost thinking it would be a
cure.”

Dr. Kaplitt says it’s still unknown why dystonia occurs in
nongenetic cases like Beka’s. Much research is still needed to find a
cure for the disease, but for now Beka is able to continue her work as
an ICU nurse without many of the dystonia-related symptoms.

Oprah Winfrey website

Site Visitors Comments:

“Congrats, Beka” ~C. Van Hove , Allergan, Inc.
“Job Well Done” ~Tom , NYC DMRF Chapter
“I look forward to it. Congrats!” ~R. Stabb ,
www.tylershope.org
“Congratulations!” ~J. Blazer,
www.wemove.org
“That’s Great News!” ~K.S, Weill-Cornell, NYP

“Congrats - well deserved attention for dystonia!” ~M. Brin, MD ,
Allergan, Inc.

~~~~

“I am so thrilled to see that Dr. Oz has given you the much deserved time dedicated to dystonia. I adore him and dont miss a thing he says. So very proud and thrilled about your accomplishments. Thank you for helping us!” ~S. J
“Great news! I shared with many. Thanks for your work and getting dystonia recognized. I’ve been trying to get Oprah to feature Nurse Practitioners to no avail for years, so what you did is really grand! Hugs.” ~P. NP with SD
“We applaud you, Bek. WE have faith in you.” ~A.M
“Am I missing something? Why on earth would you get hate mail for trying to get on Oprah? Or Dateline? Huh? Congrats for getting it done! ” ~K.
“Thanks for helping to bring this disorder out of the closet. I have yet to bump into someone else who has this, or even
someone who knows someone who has this, much less anyone who knows about it.” ~H.
“Simply awesome, Beka.”
“You go girl!” ~A.
“You have accomplished what no one else has in the dystonia world. Thank you for being here.” ~C.
“Beka - this gives great exposure to dystonia. How did you meet him ?” ~T.
“Beka - start using the delete key. You did well.”
~ F.G
“Sincere thanks. Kudos to you for doing this for dystonia.” ~ P.G