Part Of Brain Removed From The Boy Who Was Having Uncontrolled Seizures

1. How Did It Start?

Spike Parrent had led a completely normal life until he was four years of age. One day in January 2011 Spike Parrent told his father, Tom Parrent, that he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Tom Parrent watched him falling asleep, and then went upstairs to do some work. Minutes later, senior Parrent said he heard an animal-like scream, and when he rushed downstairs, his son was having a seizure. I ran to him; and was thinking, ‘Can I get to the ER before the paramedics?’ On the way to ER, he was conscious, but not really aware of anything.

2. What The Doctors Thought At First?

The doctors at the emergency room ran some tests and concluded that these most likely were febrile fits, which are caused by fever and five percent of children suffer from these at some point during their childhood. Tom Parrent was assured another seizure would never happen again.
Later that night, Spike had another seizure, so Parrent and his wife, JoJo, took him back to the ER, where doctors told them that half of the five percent of kids who suffer from febrile fits, end up having a second attack. But, that would be it.

3. What It Actually Turned Out To Be?

One week later, Spike was having multiple seizures a day and was diagnosed with epilepsy, a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. This can be very frustrating for the parents because it is a lifelong illness and requires 24/7 monitoring of the child.
Medication can control epileptic seizures only in about 45 percent of patients. After trying multiple medications, it became clear that Spike would not be one of them.

4. Any Reason Behind This Catastrophe?

Doctors tried every test possible – cancer and autoimmune diseases were ruled out. A brain biopsy was performed, and while doctors saw some unusual material in the brain’s lining, they were never able to determine what it was.

5. Any Way Out Of It?

Spike also tried alternative treatments – including the ketogenic diet, which is low in carbohydrates and high in fat. This diet has to be so precise that every ingredient has to be measured to a tenth of a gram. At just 4 years of age, a typical meal for Spike included heavy cream, heavy butter, a tiny piece of meat and a couple of blueberries.
For a while, the diet seemed to work and he went without seizures – until August of that same year when the fits returned with a vengeance.

6. No Relief? How About Taking Out The Part Of Brain That Is Causing These Seizures?

That’s when Spike was sent to the Cleveland Clinic where doctors decided that he was a good candidate for brain surgery. Essentially, Spike would have his right frontal lobe removed – the part of the brain responsible for attention span and executive function.
Research has found that epileptic patients who opt to have frontal lobe surgery have an 80 percent chance of living seizure-free for the rest of their lives but if they wait for more than five years then these chances can be cut down by at least three times.

7. How The Surgery Turned Out To Be?

Spike had his last seizure on November 9, 2011 right before his surgery. To date, he has not had another one – and he’s reducing his medications and living a happy and healthy life. He iss learning to read and you can just see the acceleration of growth, He can play football, kickbox, he’s a regular little boy who enjoys hiking practically he can do anything.

8. Any Concerns About This Surgery?

Main concerns of this surgery include change in personality, chance of having temporary paralysis and/or attention deficit issues, or being slower to learn things – but in the end, all functions recover.


source:http://researchonmedical.com/2013/03/part-of-brain-removed-from-the-boy-who-was-having-uncontrolled-seizures/