Yesterday Lee-Anne went in for probably the most intensive treatment she'll need in her epilepsy journey. I've resisted going into detail about it, but I suppose its time.
A while back, we went to see a neurosurgeon to discuss the results of last year's intracranial examination and the available options. I think I've mentioned that the most surprising thing we learned was that her seizures weren't coming from the left temporal lobe, but rather from a place called the insula, just a bit beneath it.
Because the activity was ocurring somewhere deeper than expected, this meant that traditional surgery was not an option. Instead, they would have to use a laser, called LIT.
The machine for this is rare. I can't remember if it's the only one in the country, province, city, or hospital. But whatever the parameters, it was the only one within them.
For this reason, it only gets used once a month, and only by a very specialized professional. The positive side to this is that, due to the rarity of her epilepsy, she gets special access to this sophisticated procedure that is more precise and with less chance of side effects.
The negative side is that, unlike human fingers, lasers can only move in straight lines. This means that it doesn't have the same dexterity, causing a drop in chance of success. So its' more low risk but also low reward compared to traditional surgery.
Experientially this procedure should be less uncomfortable than the intracranial examination. Most of the pain comes from the incisions in the skull. Last year they had to do 11, this time it was only one or two, and instead of being stuck in the hospital for 19 days, she should be out much sooner.
Existentially it's creepier, because the science is that the treatment works by heating up the effected part of the brain until it burns a little bit of it off. The laser sounds so elegant until you hear the details.
She will likely need another visit for the final operation after a waiting period, but there's a small chance that she will fully recover from her epilepsy without further intevention. However, regardless of the efficacy of the surgery, there's a chance that it will cause an uptick in seizures over the next two weeks. I hate when treatments cause an increase in the thing they're supposed to get rid of. Like every depression or anxiety med with a potential side effect of increasing stress and anxiety.
But I've seen Lee-Anne on the other side of the surgery now, awake and feeling well enough. I took a couple days off to stay in Brampton at her parents' place so that we could visit her.
