What is life like without a frontal lobe?
The story I shared a link to the other day on Harper’s Facebook page has left me with the need to speak to several thoughts on the connection between Epilepsy, uncontrolled seizures, and the removing the brain’s frontal lobe (frontal lobectomy). Then, what does that solution mean in respect to Harper.
First, a question that the Daily Mail’s article about 6-year-old Spike Parrent did not answer.
What is the prognosis for a person without a frontal lobe? What will life be like for him outside of the great relief of no more seizures?
With the right therapy at the right time, Spike’s brain could remap everything he lost. My best example of this is Elizabeth and her experiences with ABM (Anat Baniel Method) therapy.
Elizabeth Story: http://youtu.be/c3TrAt6SX6E
Are all seizures caused by a ‘defective’ frontal lobe? or Do all seizures happen IN the frontal lobe?
I think that’s a great question and I wish the article could have raised it. I have no clue! However, there are several stories of brain surgery in children to alleviate or eradicate uncontrolled seizures, including 2-year-old Katie Verdecchia, who had the entire right side of her brain removed in 2011.
What part of the brain do Harper’s seizures come from?
They are all over the place. It’s called Hypsarrhythmia, and this is why brain surgery is not an option. In addition, I believe her seizures are a cause of something else. You can read more about that in my Seizure Update post from January 2012. I think if you are able to know exactly where the seizures are starting from (which can be pinpointed in testing) then you are more of a candidate for considering “brain surgery” as a viable method of treatment.