Making History - Akron Children's Hospital
Making History - Akron Children's Hospital
Making History - Akron Children's Hospital
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One in 26.<br />
That’s the number of people who will be diagnosed with<br />
epilepsy during their lifetime, according to the Centers<br />
for Disease Control and Prevention.<br />
Almost three years ago, 12-year-old Jake<br />
Gmerek of Massillon, Ohio, unexpectedly<br />
became one of the “ones.” Wanting to be<br />
defined by a different number, Jake chose<br />
to undergo a procedure that was the first<br />
of its kind at <strong>Akron</strong> Children’s <strong>Hospital</strong>:<br />
epilepsy surgery. While it was an arduous<br />
two-year journey for Jake and his family,<br />
he never complained. Instead, he viewed<br />
the experience as an opportunity to make<br />
history… and to pave the way for other<br />
children just like him.<br />
A sudden diagnosis<br />
On Oct. 19, 2010, Jake was sitting in class<br />
when he started to feel “funny.” Concerned<br />
that he was going to pass out, he stood up to<br />
tell his teacher before collapsing and having<br />
a seizure. When the school called Jake’s<br />
mother, Kim Gmerek, she was in disbelief.<br />
“I thought they called the wrong house,” said<br />
Kim. “Nobody expects that call. We were in<br />
shock – our perfectly healthy child just had a<br />
seizure. It was unimaginable.”<br />
Jake was transported to <strong>Akron</strong> Children’s<br />
<strong>Hospital</strong>, where he underwent an MRI and<br />
several other tests. After he was discharged,<br />
Jake experienced several more seizures, as<br />
well as auras, abnormal sensations – like<br />
seeing colored lights or experiencing a<br />
tingling sensation – that occur before a<br />
seizure.<br />
“My husband, Mike, and I kept thinking that it<br />
could be a fluke, or there could be something<br />
more serious happening,” said Kim. “We were<br />
going from one extreme to another.”<br />
The Gmereks took Jake to the specialists at<br />
the hospital’s NeuroDevelopmental Science<br />
Center. An abnormal MRI scan showed that<br />
Jake had experienced an injury to the left<br />
side of his brain early in life; doctors believed<br />
he had suffered a stroke during Kim’s third<br />
trimester. With this discovery, coupled with<br />
his recent seizure activity, Jake was officially<br />
diagnosed with epilepsy.<br />
“Epilepsy is one of the most common types of<br />
pediatric neurodevelopmental diseases,” said<br />
Deborah Holder, MD, director of epilepsy and<br />
clinical neurophysiology at <strong>Akron</strong> Children’s<br />
<strong>Hospital</strong>. “It occurs when there are abnormal<br />
electrical discharges in the brain. In Jake’s<br />
case, the injured part of his brain triggered<br />
the seizures. Since the injury happened so<br />
early in his life, that part of the brain became<br />
abnormal.”<br />
At first, Jake received medications to help<br />
control seizure symptoms. However, the<br />
Gmereks were told that if he didn’t respond<br />
well, he would be a perfect candidate for<br />
brain surgery.<br />
During the two years prior to his surgery for epilepsy, Jake developed close relationships with the doctors and staff at<br />
the NeuroDevelopmental Science Center, including Dr. Patrick Brown, pictured here. “All of my doctors and nurses<br />
made me feel really comfortable,” Jake said. “They became really special to me.”<br />
18 CHILDREN’S PROGRESS | SPRING 2013