Epilepsy Center provides hope for Edward
Imagine undergoing as many as 20 seizures a day – brief "electrical storms" in the brain, resulting in convulsions and loss of consciousness. Then, imagine the devastating impact these seizures can have on a child or adolescent: poor grades, learning disabilities, teasing by peers, difficulties making friends and low self-esteem.
Until he was 7, Edward Boakye, now 19, was a typical child, who liked to play soccer and football. Then his world was turned upside down.
He began to experience seizures once or twice a day, seizures that left him so exhausted that he often fell asleep in class. After several visits to a local hospital, doctors diagnosed his illness: epilepsy. Edward was treated with anti-seizure medications, which caused negative reactions, and over time the frequency of his seizures increased markedly.
"It was very hard for him, especially at school," says Edward's mother, Josephine. "Kids were very cruel and made fun of him, because he had to wear a helmet so he wouldn’t hurt himself if he fell down."
Edward's family eventually sought treatment at Children's Memorial's Epilepsy Center, headed by Douglas Nordli, Jr., MD, the Lorna S. and James P. Langdon Chair in Pediatric Epilepsy.
The center, one of the top pediatric epilepsy programs in the U.S. and the only full-service pediatric-dedicated Epilepsy Center in Chicago’s seven-county region, provides a comprehensive, child-centered approach to the treatment of epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Thanks to a multi-disciplinary team and state-of-the-art technology, the program provides the kind of comprehensive care necessary to help children and young adults like Edward.
Edward began treatment at age 13 with Children's Memorial epilepsy specialist Linda Laux, MD. Because repeated trials of medications proved unsuccessful in controlling Edward's seizures, his doctors recommended surgery when he was 16. Beforehand, he went through a battery of tests and brain scans. A procedure was performed in which electrodes were placed directly on his brain. The results showed that his seizures were occurring in the right frontal lobe of his brain.