Former Preds' coach Brent Peterson says surgery saved his life

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Fifty-four-year-old Brent Peterson is living with Parkinson's disease, but the former assistant coach to the Nashville Predators isn't letting it slow him down.

"I still golf. I travel. I do everything pretty much except I can't get back on the ice," Peterson told Nashville's News 2.

Prior to having surgery six months ago, Peterson shuffled his feet, he needed help getting dressed and was taking 20 to 30 pills a day just to function. That all changed after Deep Brain Stimulation, a procedure in which surgeons implanted electrodes in Peterson's brain.

"It saved my life for now," said Peterson, who now takes just five pills a day and was diagnosed with the disease nine years ago. "I'm able to do the things I want to do."

The surgery isn't a cure for Parkinson's and not everyone is a candidate for the procedure.

Peterson says he is lucky DBS is working for him and that it has greatly improved his quality of life.

He previously told Nashville's News 2 he decided to undergo the radical treatment to help restore some of what Parkinson's had taken away from him.

"It has given me probably 10 to 15 years that I wouldn't have had," Peterson said.

Peterson is dedicated to raising awareness about the disease.

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Former Preds' coach Brent Peterson says surgery saved his life