Did anyone happen to catch the Nightline episode on ABC Thursday night?
Mom called me that evening to tell me a friend of hers from church called to let her know they were doing a story on the same surgery Austin was having. I quickly learned it wasn't the same surgery, but still one I've read about numerous times. I meant to post this sooner, but you know how it goes. I must have seen something shiny and got distracted (as Chad likes to say about my short term memory).
Anyway, it was to treat epilepsy seizures (Infantile Spasms even), but it's a more invasive surgery called a hemispherectomy. I did assume for a long time that if Austin ever was a candidate for surgery, this would most likely be the one he would have. Mainly because statistically speaking, it's usually the most successful for treating seizures once the correct side of the brain can be determined (meaning the hemisphere that contains the focus for the seizures.).
We've followed several kiddos on blogger that have had this procedure done (well, close enough, I think I've only followed kids that have had the subtotal hemispherectomy -where motor function is spared, preventing permanent paralysis on the opposite side of the body.).
This was still interesting, because it's not every day that I see the major networks air stories on epilepsy surgery...much less utter the words Infantile Spasms.
Watch it here...
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