Key Points
- The founder of the White House Writers Group lived with essential tremor since childhood.
- In 2022, he underwent focused ultrasound treatment and calls the experience “extraordinary.”
Clark Judge is the founder and CEO of the White House Writers Group, a strategic communications and public affairs firm based in Washington, DC. Clark has advised some of the world’s most prominent corporations and served as speechwriter and special assistant to both President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush.
As far back as he can remember, Clark has lived with essential tremor, a common neurological condition that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking that generally affects the hands.
“The essential tremor was first called to my attention by my family doctor in the early 90s, but I can remember parts of my childhood that were impacted by it. When I was about 10 years old, I went to summer camp, and – as was common at that time – marksmanship was one of the activities. I could never keep the rifle barrel steady. My shot always wandered.”
As he grew up, Clark ignored the tremor as nothing more than a nuisance. It wasn’t until he was well into his adult years that it began to impact daily life.
“It was difficult to sign my name, and I gradually abandoned taking notes. I spilled drinks at dinner, and if I had to stand in front of an audience, I would put my hands in my pockets. Shortly before the pandemic, I was part of a panel at a large event in Rome. We were sitting in chairs on the stage and the microphone was being passed around. I knew I couldn’t hold my notes or the microphone without distracting the audience. I ended up holding the microphone with both hands and leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. It may have seemed a little awkward, but I got through it.”
As the tremors began to infiltrate his work and life, Clark tried medications to still his hands, but he found they were only effective for a brief time. Then, he learned of another option.
“I knew of focused ultrasound almost as soon as it was FDA approved. A friend had attended a lecture at the University of Virginia and told me I really had to try it. I was intrigued, but I didn’t pursue it further at that time.”
But a few years later, at the insistence of one of his clients, Clark took a meeting with Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, MD. That discussion led to a consultation with physicians at the University of Maryland.
“They reviewed all of the treatment options with me. I already knew medications were not working, and I thought deep brain stimulation seemed like overkill. It involved drilling a hole in the brain and then inserting a wire that was going to be there for the rest of your life. In my view, that had all sorts of dangers that were way beyond anything that I thought was appropriate given the condition. Ultimately, focused ultrasound had all the qualities I wanted in a treatment; it was a long-term solution that would be noninvasive and make my hand usable again in daily life.”
Clark reports that during the treatment, he didn’t feel anything and was very relaxed. He simply laid with his eyes closed – albeit in an MRI machine.
“It was not something that I would even characterize as in the category of surgery, except of course it was. It changed something physical inside my brain that repaired something physical on my hand. It worked exactly as I’d expected. I walked over to meet my wife for lunch afterward.”
Now, three years later, Clark is happy to report that focused ultrasound has taken away dozens of barriers that the tremors created in his life.
“I don’t worry about my hands shaking and distracting people in meetings or on a stage. I can go to a dinner and maneuver the utensils, drink without spilling, and eat soup. Also, since writing is a large part of what I do, being able to write with a pen is a big deal. I couldn’t do that for a really long time.”
“Focused ultrasound is a remarkable therapy – as, of course, are most therapies these days – but this is in a category by itself. There are few treatments that cause little to no unwanted impact on the patient, require no recovery time, and work so quickly and effectively. It is extraordinary. This technology is likely one of the great unsung advances in medicine of the last half century.”