Surgery brings an end to 20 seizures a day for young patient

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - In October, 21-year-old Megan Fox could barely walk.

She had to be closely watched out of fear of drop seizures brought on by epilepsy. 20 times a day she would collapse without warning.

”We had to keep her very stationary,” Fox’s mother Samantha said. “She had to sit on the couch all the time. When she was at the table, we had to make sure there were chairs beside her in case she fell, so she wouldn’t hit the ground.”

Fox’s parents opted for her to undergo a Corpus Callosotomy, a surgery in which connections are severed between the left and right halves of the brain. The decision was not made lightly.

”The consequences of the surgery could be if you do it wrong with slight mistakes the patient may not know forever how to breathe,” Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, UofL neurosurgeon said,” That means the patient is gone.”

There were some scary moments immediately after the surgery, as Fox’s brain would forget how to breathe.

”She wasn’t speaking much at all,” Frazier Rehab Clinical Supervisor said. “She was not able to raise her left arm above her head. She was walking very short distances.”

But her medical team described Fox as a fighter, she made it through the tough days.

Three months after surgery, Fox completed her post-operative physical surgery doing push-ups, walking and playing catch. She has been seizure free since leaving the hospital.

“It’s been life-changing for our family,” Samantha Fox said. “We can go places, we can do things. We do not have to worry constantly. I mean, we still worry, but it’s not. Is she going to fall? Is she going to fall? Even if she goes to get something off the floor, is she falling? Or is she just getting something off the floor? It’s been life-changing for us and for her.”

Fox is ready to go back to school full-time where she will continue with physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Her mother said she is also looking forward to getting back into bowling in the Special Olympics.

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