I WAS IN THE ARMY FROM 1978 TO 1981.
WOMAN: HE WAS A KIND OF A BIG BIKER GUY.
I WAS KIND OF AFRAID OF HIM WHEN I FIRST MET HIM, AND...
HA HA HA!
THEN I GOT TO KNOW HIM,
AND HE ENDED UP BEING ONE OF THE NICEST GUYS I'VE EVER MET.
HE'S GOT AN AWESOME PERSONALITY.
REALLY NICE GUY--
OBVIOUSLY, OR I WOULDN'T BE MARRIED TO HIM FOR 20 YEARS.
I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY WERE CAUSED BY.
THEY HAD SUGGESTED--
THE HOSPITAL IN CHICAGO WHERE HE HAD HIS SECOND BACK SURGERY
SAID THAT MAYBE IT WAS CAUSED BY THE ANESTHETIC
BECAUSE HE WAS UNDER FOR SO LONG.
WE WERE ON I-90 COMING HOME FROM CHICAGO,
AND I HAD TO PULL OFF OVER TO THE SIDE.
WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THAT WAS A SEIZURE AT THAT TIME.
WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS.
TIM: THE SEIZURES WOULD TAKE ME FOR A WEEK,
AND THEN IT'D TAKE ME A WEEK OR SO LONGER
TO GET OUT FROM BEING DOWN.
AND THEN, AFTER A COUPLE OF WEEKS OF THAT,
IT STARTED ALL OVER AGAIN.
JOELLEN: AND IT COULD GO ON FOR A COUPLE DAYS,2 OR 3 A DAY,
AND THEN HE'S JUST IN BED.
HE CAN'T GET UP. HE CAN BARELY EAT.
HIS WHOLE BODY HURT FROM THE SEIZURES.
IT JUST DEBILITATED HIM.
HE WOULD BE IN BED FOR DAYS.
AND IT WHUPPED ME, BAD.
IT WAS HARD. IT WAS REALLY HARD.
THE KIDS WERE LIVING AT HOME.
THEY WERE--THE KIDS WERE SMALL AT THE TIME.
WE JUST--WE JUST DEALT WITH IT.
ANYBODY WHO HAS A DIAGNOSIS OF EPILEPSY
FIRST GETS TREATED WITH MEDICATIONS,
AND THEY OFTEN ARE VERY EFFECTIVE
AND WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS.
HOWEVER, SOMETIMES THEY DON'T WORK, AND ACTUALLY,
IN ABOUT A THIRD OF PATIENTS,
MEDICATIONS WILL NOT CONTROL A PERSON'S SEIZURES.
WHEN YOU START A NEW MEDICATION,
IT TAKES MAYBE 3 WEEKS TO A MONTH
TO EVEN GET INTO YOUR SYSTEM TO EVEN KNOW IF IT'S GONNA WORK,
AND THEN IF THAT DOESN'T WORK,
YOU'RE BACK TO SQUARE ONE AGAIN, TRYING SOMETHING NEW.
SO IT--IT GOT TO BE FRUSTRATING FOR EVERYBODY.
WHEN A PERSON HAS EPILEPSY THAT IS MEDICALLY INTRACTABLE,
OFTEN WE RECOMMEND PERFORMING SURGERY
TO REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF SEIZURES THEY ARE HAVING.
FOR EXAMPLE, MANY PATIENTS WITH MEDICALLY INTRACTABLE EPILEPSY
HAVE SEIZURES THAT EMANATE FROM THE TEMPORAL LOBE,
WHICH IS A PORTION OF THE BRAIN BEHIND THE EYES.
BY REMOVING EITHER THIS SECTION OF THE TEMPORAL LOBE
OR A SMALLER SECTION OF THE TEMPORAL LOBE,
IT MAY REDUCE OR COMPLETELY ELIMINATE THE SEIZURES
THAT SOMEONE IS HAVING.
- HELLO, MR. HOED. - HOW YOU DOING?
RUTECKI: MRS. HOED. HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING?
JOELLEN: WHEN THE DOCTOR STARTED TALKING ABOUT SURGERY,
IT WAS PRETTY SCARY.
WE DIDN'T SEE THAT THERE WAS ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVE
BECAUSE HE'D ALREADY BEEN THROUGH ALL THE MEDICATIONS
THAT THEY COULD GIVE HIM.
TIM, VOICE-OVER: AND I WAS AT THE POINT WHERE IT DIDN'T MATTER
BECAUSE I WAS DOWN MORE THAN I WAS UP.
SO I WAS WILLING TO... DO ANYTHING AT THE TIME.
LAKE: EPILEPSY SURGERY, LIKE ALL TYPES OF SURGERY, HAS RISK--
THE RISK OF STROKE, THE RISK OF BLEEDING, INFECTION,
AND OF COURSE THERE'S EVEN A RISK OF DEATH.
THE ACTUAL RISKS ARE QUITE LOW.
THE RISK OF DEATH IS SMALL--
WOULD BE VERY SIMILAR TO ANY SURGICAL PROCEDURE.
THERE'S A SMALL RISK OF INFECTION.
AND THOSE RISKS ARE QUITE LOW, WELL LESS THAN 1%.
THE ONLY TIME WE DO EPILEPSY SURGERY IS IF SOMEONE'S SEIZURES
ARE POORLY CONTROLLED WITH MEDICATION,
AND WHEN WE CHOOSE TO DO THAT,
WE ACTUALLY FEEL THAT THE SURGERY IS LESS RISKY
THAN NOT HAVING THE SURGERY
BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE SURGERY FOR THEIR EPILEPSY,
THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE ONGOING AND UNCONTROLLED SEIZURES.
AND THERE IS AN INHERENT RISK TO UNCONTROLLED EPILEPSY
THAT CAN RESULT IN DEATH.
HE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY ALTERNATIVE
OTHER THAN LIFE THE WAY HE KNEW IT
OR LIFE THE WAY, MAYBE, IT COULD BE AFTERWARDS.
THERE WAS A LOT OF TESTING GOING ON,
BUT I GUESS THEY DID WHAT THEY HAD TO DO.
THE EPILEPSY MONITORING UNIT IS THE SECTION HERE IN THE HOSPITAL
WHERE WE CAN BRING PATIENTS IN,
GET THEM ALL HOOKED UP WITH THE EEG LEADS
SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE BRAINWAVES,
AND THEN MONITOR THEM WHEN THEY HAVE A SEIZURE.
THAT DATA WILL HELP THE DOCTORS DECIDE
WHERE THE SEIZURE IS COMING FROM,
WHAT PART OF THE BRAIN IT IS COMING FROM,
WHAT KIND OF A SEIZURE IT IS,
AND THEREFORE WHAT KIND OF TREATMENT IS GOING TO WORK BEST.
SO OVERALL, WE THINK THAT EPILEPSY SURGERY
AND A TEMPORALOBECTOMY WOULD BE THE WAY TO GO
ON THE LEFT SIDE.
CARNCROSS: IF SOMEBODY IS GONNA HAVE SURGERY
AND WE'RE GONNA TAKE OUT PART OF THEIR BRAIN,
THAT NEUROSURGEON WANTS TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO GO
AND EXACTLY WHAT TO TAKE OUT.
THE TESTING THAT WE DO NOT ONLY ALLOWS US
TO FIND THE ABNORMAL AREA OF BRAIN,
IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO ASSESS HOW FUNCTIONAL
THAT PORTION OF THE BRAIN IS.
I THINK WE SHOULD DO A LEFT SIDE OF THE INTERIOR TEMPORALOBECTOMY.
HE IS LEFT-HANDED,
SO HE DOES SEEM TO HAVE LANGUAGE FUNCTION ON BOTH SIDES.
WHAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IS NOT MAKE THE SEIZURES GO AWAY
AND THEN HAVE SOMEONE HAVE A NEW PROBLEM
IN ADDITION TO THAT THAT MAY BE JUST AS DISABLING.
LAKE: PATIENTS USUALLY COME IN FOR SURGERY
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
THEY'LL UNDERGO SURGERY,
WHICH WILL LAST SOMEWHERE BETWEEN OFTEN 4 TO 6 HOURS.
SO IT IS A LONG SURGERY.
SO WHEN HE HAD HIS SURGERY, HE ACTUALLY HAD IT AWAKE,
AND WE STIMULATED AREAS OF THE TEMPORAL LOBE
TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT LANGUAGE LIVED THERE, IF YOU WILL,
AND TRIED TO AVOID THOSE AREAS TO MINIMIZE ANY PROBLEM.
THEN THEY WAKE YOU UP, AND...
DURING THE SURGERY, AND IT'S LIKE,
IT'S PRETTY WILD WHEN YOU'RE AWAKE
WHEN THEY'RE UP HERE.
IT WAS REALLY SCARY, JUST WAITING AND WORRYING.
SOME PATIENTS MAY REPORT SOME CHANGES IN THEIR SPEECH
OR SOME CHANGES IN THEIR MEMORY.
OTHER PATIENTS MAY EXPERIENCE SOME WEAKNESS OR FATIGUE.
IN MOST PATIENTS, THIS IMPROVES WITH A REHABILITATION PROGRAM
OR WITH TIME.
ARE YOU HAVING ANY PROBLEMS RIGHT NOW,
OR ARE THINGS GOING ALL RIGHT?
TIM: THEY'RE GOING ALL RIGHT, WITH THE SAME OLD.
LAKE: IF CAREFULLY SELECTED,
EPILEPSY PATIENTS USUALLY HAVE GOOD OUTCOMES,
AND THEY'LL HAVE SOME IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR SEIZURES,
AND SOME PATIENTS WILL HAVE A COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF THEIR SEIZURES.
BEFORE THE SURGERY, I WASN'T ABLE TO DO ANYTHING.
AND NOW THAT HE'S HAD THE SURGERY AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD,
WE DO A LOT TOGETHER.
WE CAN GO OUT WITH OUR FRIENDS. WE CAN GO DO WITH THE HORSES.
WE WORK IN THE YARD TOGETHER. WE GO ON HIKES.
WE DO A LOT NOW.
LAKE: IF EPILEPSY SURGERY IS SUCCESSFUL,
IT CAN PROVIDE A LOT OF REWARDS TO PATIENTS.
THEY'RE HAVING FEWER SEIZURES OR NO SEIZURES.
THEY HAVE GREATER COMFORT IN THEIR LIFE, GREATER SAFETY.
IT'S AN ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER.
THE SURGERY GOT MY LIFE BACK, SO YES ON THE SURGERY.
THE SURGERY CHANGED OUR WHOLE FAMILY'S LIFE, ABSOLUTELY.
IT WORKED. THAT'S ALL I KNOW.