Terry Crews’ wife Rebecca, 60, reveals secret Parkinson’s diagnosis after 11 years

Rebecca King-Crews, the wife of Terry Crews, has spoken publicly about her Parkinson’s diagnosis for the first time.

Now aged 60, Rebecca was diagnosed in 2015 and recently underwent a procedure to help her manage her symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological condition of the nervous system. As explained by the NHS, it can damage the brain over many years, with symptoms including involuntary shaking (tremors), slow movement, and muscle stiffness.

Appearing on the Today Show this morning – during which episode Savannah Guthrie also returned for the first time since her mother’s disappearance – Rebecca sat beside her husband of 37 years as she courageously opened up about the last decade of her health.

She recalled how her symptoms began in 2012, coming on suddenly and progressing quickly.

At first, she had numbness in her left foot while exercising, which became a limp. Her personal trainer also noticed that her left arm wasn’t swinging with as much momentum as her right.

Rebecca King-Crews has publicly spoken about being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 11 years ago (Picture: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

When applying lip gloss one morning, Rebecca noticed her hand was shaking, which she recognised as a tremor due to her grandmother experiencing them.

However, she wasn’t formally diagnosed until three years later, as her doctor initially believed she was just exercising too hard, then would dismiss her symptoms as anxiety. A neurologist also wasn’t sure what the cause was.

Eventually, it was seeing a Parkinson’s specialist that gave Rebecca answers.

This led to her having a newly approved procedure to help with the symptoms on one side of her body, after which she ‘feels good’.

The procedure involved using a focused ultrasound. Guided by MRI, it delivered waves to specific areas of the brain thought to have a part in the movement of Parkinson’s symptoms.

‘I’m able to write my name and my dates, and I’m able to write with my right hand for the first time in probably three years,’ Rebecca explained today, adding that she can also balance on one leg.

Rebecca is ‘still in recovery’, though, which she’s been told could take three months.

‘As you recover, you see more improvement.’

Footage showed Rebecca in hospital ahead of the FDA-approved procedure, showing how her symptoms looked. Having been without medication for three days, her hands were trembling at speed.

In September, she’s due to have a second procedure to hopefully treat symptoms on the other side of her body. The surgery is considered an adjunct therapy, meaning it doesn’t replace the need for meds.

‘I’m still figuring it out,’ she replied when asked how things are post-procedure. ‘Because you’re improved on one side [of the body] but not the other, so it can make you feel a little more aware of the other.

‘However, each day that I do things, I’m aware of the benefits already.’

She appeared on the Today Show alongside husband Terry to speak about her health (Picture: Today) Rebecca, 60, recently underwent a non-invasive procedure to help manage her tremors and other symptoms (Picture: Today)

Asked why she wanted to ‘come forward and share this story with the world’ after so long, Rebecca said: ‘I don’t believe in telling my story just so you can know my story and feel sorry for me.’

She went on to praise the ‘non-invasive’ surgery, which she wants to make more available for others, since it is ‘expensive’, and provide ‘hope’ to people who have Parkinson’s.

‘I believe we’re gonna find a cure.’

As attention turned to Terry, he said it has been ‘very, very hard’ to witness what his wife has been through over the last ’10 to 12 years’.

‘The tremors, the not sleeping, the loss of balance… to watch her write her name for the first time in three years … I don’t know what to say.

‘I’m choked up just thinking about it, because she’s the rock of our lives.

Proud husband Terry has called her a ‘superhero’ (Picture: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

‘She’s a superhero. She did not want pity; that’s why she didn’t wanna tell anybody before, and now, because of this procedure and because people don’t know about it, she said now is the time to tell.’

Finally, asked what advice or motivational words she has for anyone else with Parkinson’s, Rebecca’s message was simple: ‘Just keep walking.’

She listed the projects she’s worked on in recent years, despite her symptoms. These have included launching a clothing line and writing a book, with Terry smiling proudly as she reeled each one off.

‘Because what is in my heart is just keep swimming, just keep walking, just keep going,’ she said.

‘And that’s what I’m gonna keep doing. I don’t believe you just lie down and die because you got a diagnosis.’

‘This is how we do it,’ Terry chimed in, the loved-up couple fistbumping one another.

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