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15 Years Seizure Free
Mon, 05/28/2007 - 06:38Topic: Surgery and Devices
In January of 1991 I had successful surgery to my right temporal lobe. I had been having seizures since the age of 14 months old after a febrile seizure. My surgery was performed at Yale-New Haven University by a top neurosurgeon in the field of epilepsy surgery, Dr. Dennis Spencer.
Comments
Re: Re: 15 Years Seizure Free
Submitted by ewanduffy on Wed, 2007-05-30 - 15:34
Memory can be an issue, however, I have found that the claims for cod liver oil as a memory improver are true. Like the first poster, I am 15 years seizure free. I started college 3 months after surgery to study as an accountant. Since starting work 11 years ago, I have never been unemployed. In fact, I have left every job to move to a better one and in each case, was asked to stay by each employer (unsuccessfuly for them!). All of my line managers have been aware of my past (I usually wait until I am comfortable in the job and find a reason to slip it into the conversation). So it is perfectly possible to come through surgery and make a success of your life after E.
With regard to specific functionality, isn't that what the WADA test is designed to identify (as it is 15 years since surgery, I can't remember what every test was for). They freeze up the part of your brain that they are planning on removing and get you to do basic cognitive tests like say the alphabet, forwards and backwards and count to 100, forward and backwards.
Re: 15 Years Seizure Free
Submitted by Angie m on Fri, 2007-06-08 - 23:08
Congratulations for 15 years. I plan on surgery in about a month, I haven't realized this type of surgery has been going on for this long.
Re: 15 Years Seizure Free
Submitted by ScottR on Mon, 2007-05-28 - 23:01
Congratulations on 15 years of seizure freedom. I am also looking forward to Surgery on my right temporal lobe. Mine is tentatively going to be in January of 08 if I pass the WADA next week. I am curious about the long term effect on focus and memory after surgery. One of my many reasons for getting the surgery is to be able to advance at my current job. Not having a drivers license restricts my availability which restricts me from going into a salaried position. I'm relatively sure if I pushed the envelope with ada law I probably could still get the position however I expect a lot out of myself and would not feel right about putting a larger burden on my fellow managers. So my concern really is how will removing a part of my brain effect me being able to function at the same high level that I do currently, and if it does is it only temporary and how long before I would be able to again function at 100%. Sorry. I know I am throwing a lot at you but I really wanted to get answers from someone that has had a chance to see how the surgery has effected them long term. Thank you very much for your time, and any information that I could get from you would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again. Scott Rogers. Scotnkc@roadrunner.com