By: Grace Huff
For most of her life, Lourdes “Lou” Dosal never had to think about movement. She navigated boats to the Bahamas, played tennis and helped her sons as they became parents. Her body responded without hesitation, a silent partner in a life filled with independence and purpose.
Then, slowly, something changed.
She would be in the middle of a conversation, and her mind would go completely blank. Her manicurist noticed that the fingers on her left hand were trembling. Doctors told her it was anxiety, menopause and lack of sleep. But Lou knew, in her gut, something deeper was wrong.
In August 2014, she received her diagnosis: Parkinson’s disease.
“Every step became a negotiation. Every movement was something I had to plan. I had to learn an entirely new way of moving through the world,” she said.
In March 2020, Lou underwent Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery. By June, she had her IPG implant. Just two weeks later, she developed a severe infection in her abdomen where the device was placed. What followed was a long, frightening chapter marked by multiple procedures, recurring infections, powerful antibiotics and the emotional weight of uncertainty.
In March 2022, exactly two years after her first DBS surgery began, her care team made a difficult but wise decision: remove all of the DBS hardware and perform a pallidotomy through the existing leads before the removal.
Lou was terrified.
Looking back, she calls it one of the best decisions her doctors ever made.
Two weeks after surgery, she returned home full of energy and without the complications she had feared. A six-month MRI confirmed it; the pallidotomy had worked, restoring many of the benefits she once experienced with DBS.
“They helped me believe I could get my quality of life back,” she said.
Throughout the most challenging moments of her journey, Lou found strength not only in her faith and her family, but in her care team at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases. She calls her physicians, Michael Okun and Kelly Foote, her “superheroes.”
During the darkest days of infections and surgeries, they told her something that stayed with her: “You got this. You’re a warrior.”
That’s really when “Warrior Lou” came out, but the truth is, a warrior had been inside Lou long before that moment, and came forward when Lou needed her the most.
“They weren’t just doctors. They gave me calm. They were present, compassionate and genuine. I felt seen as a person, not just a patient.”
One of the most overwhelming moments of Lou’s experience came when she was sent home with a PICC line and a complicated, refrigerated antibiotic treatment. The medication had to be delivered by truck, signed for, stored correctly and administered on a strict schedule. She and her sons had no idea how they would manage it.
In a single afternoon, a social worker coordinated everything: the home health nurse, the medication delivery, the schedule, the phone numbers and the plan for the next day.
“That showed me the real value of having a social worker during a crisis,” Lou said.
That moment stayed with her. When she later learned that the Fixel Institute wanted to expand its social work services, she knew exactly how she could give back. Lou established the Lourdes Dosal Social Worker Fund to ensure other patients and families would have that same support when they needed it most.
But Lou is quick to point out that one of the most significant sources of peace in her daily life is her caregiver, Paula.
“She quickly became the center of my care, my partner, my anchor. Somehow she learned my needs, my fears and my rhythms as if she had known me for years. I trust her with everything,” said Lou.
Today, she continues to live independently in Miami, surrounded by the familiar comforts of home and the life she has built. Her sons, Eric and Brian, are dedicated to her well-being, staying closely connected (though separated by physical distance) and ensuring she has the right support in place so she can continue living life on her own terms and is never alone.
“We focus on making the time we do have meaningful,” Eric shared. “Knowing she is surrounded by the right care gives us incredible peace of mind.”
Lou’s journey is a reminder that neurological care is not only about procedures and medications. It is about people, physicians, social workers, caregivers and family, working together to restore hope and quality of life.
“Parkinson’s affects every part of your life, not just your body,” she said. “Social workers support the patient and the family, and that makes all the difference.”
If you are looking for a way to make a difference for families navigating Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS and other neurological conditions, you can support the Lourdes Dosal Social Worker Fund at the Fixel Institute here: https://www.uff.ufl.edu/giving-opportunities/027671-lourdes-dosal-social-worker-fund/