Six Years Seizure-Free
What this anniversary has taught me about the Canadian health system, recovery, and advocacy
Six years ago today, I was lying in an ICU bed, waking up to my doctor doing rounds and the smile of my dad saying, “good morning” to me, and asking me how I was feeling.
I couldn’t answer.
It had been 24 hours since my awake brain surgery and I was still really out of it—being on Dilaudid and all.
I was half-in consciousness and half-out, as I observed my best friend quickly come in to say hi, while she was on her way to a different hospital in Toronto, as a third year resident in psychiatry.
As I look back to that time, and the recovery, and return to independence, I reflect gratefully, as I know my outcome is not the usual with people who have had elective epilepsy surgery.
Most people have to come to terms with a trade-off of reduced brain function in a small area of their brain, with reduced or eliminated seizures, due to the type of surgery it is.
I was very lucky, the neuro-psychologist told me. He wasn’t used to giving good news after surgery, when my results came in 18 months later.
I had increased time in my ability answer questions, heightened awareness to the…
