July 28, 2022
She Had Seizures All Her Life — Brain Surgery Cured Her
Melissa Hunter was used to having occasional seizures — she’d been diagnosed with epilepsy as a child, but medication kept the condition at bay. When she was in her late 20s and decided to try for a child, doctors in Portland, where she lives, recommended switching her epilepsy medication. The switch caused her condition to worsen, leading to a seizure behind the wheel, a hospital stay, a long recovery, and more frequent seizures. She knew something had to change. In 2015, she decided to undergo brain surgery. She has been seizure-free ever since. This is her story, as told to McKenna Princing.
I’ve battled epilepsy my whole life. I always lived a normal life with medication: the only time I’d have a seizure was if I forgot to take my meds.
The trouble started in 2006, when my husband and I decided we wanted to start having kids. The medication I’d been taking most of my life was deemed unsafe for me to take during a potential pregnancy, so my doctors in Portland switched me to different medications.
To read the full article featuring UW Medicine’s Dr. Nicholas Poolos, please visit the link below: