STANFORD, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Approximately three million Americans suffer from epilepsy. While most take medicine to control their seizures, approximately 56% still experience them. Isaac Diaz was part of that number. The California teen’s research led him to a life-altering surgery.
For the first time in a long while, Isaac is thinking about what’s next.
“I wanna start my own culinary business, like a restaurant in the future,” he told Ivanhoe.
After years of struggling with his health, he wasn’t sure if he would ever reach this milestone.
“I had a stroke at birth and then after that, had a seizure and it affected like my whole left side,” Isaac explained.
At thirteen months old, Isaac was put on seizure meds at the same time he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. However by 2020, the seizures came back with a vengeance, sometimes several times in just a single day.
“It was hard cause like it was always like constant worrying and like always on my mind like when’s the next seizure gonna happen,” he said.
Isaac began doing his own research which led him to Stanford Children’s Health. Doctors conducted two years of testing to confirm the location. Since the seizures were near his visual pathways, doctors decided to move forward with a craniotomy, which allowed surgeons to know what to avoid to preserve Isaac’s vision.
“The goal is to remove the abnormal area of the brain that’s causing the seizures, but to leave as much of the normal brain there as you safely can,” said Laura Prolo, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.
Isaac and his family knew the surgery worked when…
“We hit six months of Isaac having no seizures and we were, over the moon,” said his mom Jazmin Diaz.
“I would never give up hope,” Isaac said.
Isaac still experiences some seizures but nothing compared to before the surgery. The year prior, he had 31 seizures. Since then, only four. Once he reaches his sixth month seizure-free, Isaac plans to tackle his next big milestone — getting a driver’s license.
Contributors to this news report include: Jennifer Winter, Producer; Joe Short, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Source:
https://www.cdc.gov/epilepsy/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
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