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phylisfeinerjohnson

Joined: 02/05/2010

My Story:

When I got epilepsy at the age of 14, my parents wouldn't even say the "e" word. (And my step-father was a surgeon!) I was told I would "never amount to anything" and treated like damaged goods.

Ha! I became a writer and had my own thriving freelance business for 28 years. Then after almost dying (cascading seizures, heart attack, coma, life support, the whole thing) I went into rehab where I had a lot of time to think.

I couldn't even find my keyboard for 3 months. And it took me 15 minutes to write a 2 line email. Pretty sad for a writer.

When I finally "recovered," I decided to ditch my "day job" and become a full time epilepsy advocate.

So, I'm still a writer...but one with a different focus.

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Reply: TELL US YOUR STORY!

Once again, I tried to post and failed. I don't understand. Sometimes it works...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

8 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:TELL US YOUR STORY! Once again, I tried to post and failed. I don't understand. Sometimes it works...

TELL US YOUR STORY!

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

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New Breakthrough Epilepsy Surgery!

Revolutionary laser surgery — a safer, less invasive alternative to...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

Revolutionary laser surgery — a safer, less invasive alternative to brain surgery as we know it — has slowly been achieving success with brain tumor patients.

Instead of the more traditional craniotomy, in which a bone flap is removed from the skull, neurosurgeons are using MRI-guided laser technology to destroy lesions in hard-to-access regions of the brain.

"This is a tool for patients with tumors who have been told they do not have other options" — Shabbar F. Danish, MD, of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital — says about laser-assisted thermal ablation.

"This is also a viable option for patients who do not want radiation therapy or general anesthesia. Additionally, we can take their hospital stay from four to seven days down to 24 hours."

The procedure marries the precision of navigation tools…with an MRI-guided laser probe that's as small and light as a pen. "What this does is you just have to make a hole that will take you to the middle of the tumor, and (ablate) the tumor.

It's actually done in the MRI suite, so when the probe is confirmed to be in the correct position in the MRI suite you heat it and you can watch directly on the MRI scanner what area is being heated using the program. After that you can do another MRI scan, since the patient is already there, to show if the tumor is gone. So you have instant gratification."

On July 18, 2011 history was made for epilepsy surgery…

What's so different about yesterday's surgery at Texas Children's Hospital, is this was the first time laser brain surgery was done successfully on a patient with epilepsy. A surgical breakthrough that's long overdue. (Laser surgery has been used successfully on cancer patients for more than a decade.)

Doctors said a typical hospital stay for patients before this laser surgery was five to seven days. But now, with this less-invasive alternative, patients can usually go home the next day!

So far, doctors have performed the surgery on children, although plans to expand the new technology for adult patients is in the works.

"Based on our experience, we believe the use of MRI-guided laser surgery will change the face of epilepsy treatment and provide a life-changing option for many epilepsy surgery candidates — both children and adults," said Dr. Angus Wilfong, director of Texas Children's comprehensive epilepsy program and associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at Baylor College of Medicine.

And it will bring new hope to all of us. The chance to change our lives.

Phylis Feiner Johnson
www.epilepsytalk.com
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Posted byphylisfeinerjohnson

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Antidepressants: Help or Hype?

There's a raging argument going on among researchers about the effectiveness of...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Antidepressants: Help or Hype? There's a raging argument going on among researchers about the effectiveness of...

Protect Your Access to Natural Supplements!

Target: Your Senators and Representatives Sponsored by: Alliance for...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

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Sound Off!

Here's a place to express yourself, your point of view or whatever comes to...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Sound Off! Here's a place to express yourself, your point of view or whatever comes to...

New research on origins of TLE!

In a study which appears online in the Annals of Neurology, neurologist and...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

0 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:New research on origins of TLE! In a study which appears online in the Annals of Neurology, neurologist and...

If you didn’t have epilepsy, how would you change ...

I have to admit, I'd still be a writer. Writing is my passion, it's what gets...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

3 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:If you didn’t have epilepsy, how would you change your life? I have to admit, I'd still be a writer. Writing is my passion, it's what gets...

Prices Drop For High-Risk Insurance

This news from NPR on July 5th… On July 1, the Obama administration reduced...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

3 Replies | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Prices Drop For High-Risk Insurance This news from NPR on July 5th… On July 1, the Obama administration reduced...

Ground-breaking new research on origins of adult e...

In a ground-breaking new study which appears online in the Annals of Neurology,...

Posted by phylisfeinerjohnson

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Ground-breaking new research on origins of adult epilepsy… In a ground-breaking new study which appears online in the Annals of Neurology,...

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