Making History - Akron Children's Hospital

After being diagnosed with epilepsy in 2013,
Jake underwent surgery to cure the disease.
“I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with
seizures. They didn’t just improve my life, they
saved it. They gave me hope,” he said.
“As parents, what do you do?” Kim said. “You
conceal your feelings and stay strong for your
child, who’s crushed when he hears ‘brain
surgery.’”
After a period of time, it became clear that
Jake’s condition wasn’t improving.
“Out of those who are diagnosed with epilepsy,
30 percent still have seizures despite the
medication,” said Dr. Holder. “That was the
group Jake was in.”
An important decision
For the next year, Mike and Kim avidly
researched this type of surgery, simply
known as epilepsy surgery, weighing the
potential outcomes against the possible risks.
It would be the first one performed at Akron
Children’s Hospital, accounted for by the
additions of Dr. Holder and Roger Hudgins,
MD, director of the Division of Neurosurgery
and the NeuroDevelopmental Science Center.
And it would involve not one surgery, but two.
During the first surgery, called brain
mapping, surgeons would insert electrodes
onto different areas of Jake’s brain. After
the surgery, Dr. Holder and her team would
stimulate the electrodes to map out the
way his brain functioned. The results would
then serve as a guide to Dr. Hudgins during
epilepsy surgery to ensure that he removed
only the abnormal sections of the brain
to reduce the risk of difficulties after the
procedure.
“The problem with the area in which the
abnormalities existed in Jake’s brain was
that they were very close to his language
and motor areas,” said Dr. Holder. “We
needed to make sure that we only removed
the abnormal brain matter and left the
normal portions in place.”
Kim and Mike talked through the possibility
of surgery with Jake. At 13 years old, they felt
he should have a say in the decision. After
hearing all of the information, Jake looked at
his parents, smiled and replied, “I want to do
it. I want to make history.”
“I remember Mike and I looked at each other
and thought – ok, let’s do it,” said Kim.
Making history
Dr. Hudgins met with Jake and his parents
a few weeks before the surgeries to explain
the process and what he would experience
during each step. Jake admitted that it
helped alleviate some of his anxieties about
the procedures.
“I really like Dr. Hudgins,” said Jake. “He told
me everything that I needed to know about
the surgery – about how well it would work,
how the scar was going to look, stuff like
that. All of my doctors and nurses made me
feel really comfortable. They became really
special to me.”
In an expression of gratitude last fall, Jake and his sister Addy
organized a book drive for the hospital. Addy’s Brownie Troop
#61014, along with Sauder Elementary School classmates from
Jackson Township collected 1,000 books for our patients. Jake
and his family are pictured here with doctors and staff from the
NeuroDevelopmental Science Center.
20 CHILDREN’S PROGRESS | SPRING 2013