How to Live With Epilepsy (Real Examples)
November 10, 2009
Six real-life examples below
Bernie Britton has suffered from epilepsy for most of his life. While in many patients seizures can be controlled to a great extent with medications, Bernie’s case was the exception and he would sit down whenever he felt a seizure coming on so that he would hurt himself or others.
He finally got help from the Mayo clinic thanks to a new diagnostic test called SISCOM (subtraction ictal SPECT co-registered to MRI) which could find out where the seizures originated. Britton had two surgeries. In the first electrodes were implanted in his brain to trace the path of his seizures. The second surgery untangled the nerves and blood vessels that proved to be the origin of his seizures. Before the surgeries, Britton was having two to 10 seizures a week, with many more dizzy spells in between – now he has had only four since 2003.
Melissa Bruesehoff was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was only four years old. She had to lead a very restricted life and the seizures only intensified as she grew older. Melissa began seeing Gregory Cascino, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, when she was in college.
The doctor agreed that she was a good candidate for surgery, which she had 16 years ago. She has not had a seizure since, nor does she take medication for epilepsy. She has a job, drives and leads a very active life.
Mark Kellaway used to drift off or look blankly or start dribbling but nobody thought anything of it. Finally when he moved in with is girlfriend (now his wife) she told him she though something was wrong. The first doctor he went to did not diagnose him, but the second one sent him for tests and he was diagnosed with left temporal lobe epilepsy with complex partial seizures.
He was put on medication to control his seizures and he lost his licence to drive. He has been on various combinations of medications and has suffered from some memory loss and also a fair amount of weight. He is now the stay at home dad to his two daughters.
Chanda Gunn, Olympic participant and an ice-hockey goalie, was nine years old, very sporty when her teachers noticed that she used to blank out, with no memory of what had happened. Her parents were called and her doctor diagnosed epilepsy. From swimming, she switched to ice-hockey and her parents were happy because she would be wearing heavily padded clothes along with a helmet.
She has been on anti seizure medicines, which after modifications, have been keeping her seizures under control. She continued with her sports ambitions and won silver and gold medals from the 2004 and 2005 World Championships, a silver medal from the 2005 Four Nations Cup and a bronze medal from the 2006 Olympic Games. She is now also spokesperson for the Epilepsy Therapy Development Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing new treatments for people living with epilepsy.
Kelly Neuschwanger was still in high school when she woke up one morning with blood in her mouth – she had bitten her tongue while asleep. She was taken to a doctor who said it was ‘no big deal’. It took nine months of visits to doctors and tests before she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
She was prescribed various medicines which kept the disease under control for two years, when she started suffering from seizures again – as many as 12-13 a month. In the meantime she had started work and also got married. Though her medications were repeatedly changed and given in various combinations and dosages, the seizures did not come under control.
She had an advanced diagnostic test (SISCOM) and after that she underwent brain surgery. She has not had any seizures since then.
Carla Huelsmann was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was only 2 years of age. She would go into a trance like state, have slurred speech and lose her train of thought. Her condition was managed by medicines. She grew up with the disease, got married and had a baby. That is when the seizures returned with a vengeance thanks to the changes in her hormone levels brought about by pregnancy and childbirth and she began experiencing them every day.
She suffered for six years before finding out about surgery as an option. She had the surgery to remove scar tissue from the left temporal lobe of her brain and now she does not suffer from seizures any more.
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