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When Emma was just four years old, she had her first seizure. She were referred to the Alberta Children’s Hospital where she had MRIs, CT scans, spinal taps and was put on several different drugs - some which had horrific side effects. Her seizures were terrifying because she hallucinated, saw monsters and screamed uncontrollably. Further testing also included a 4-day EEG video monitoring test which revealed that Emma’s hallucinations and terror was directly related to her seizure activity. They discovered that at its height, Emma was having more than 50 in a day.Surgery would be her only option. Radiologists
discovered a tiny spot deep within her brain that what causing her seizures. Experts at the Alberta After days of extensive brain mapping they were able to pinpoint exactly where they would need to operate. After a long four hours to remove that part of the brain her parents Marie and Michael were so grateful and relieved to be rid of the cause of her seizures. Remarkably, Emma was able to go home after only four days in hospital. There, she recovered for two weeks, and then attended Gordon Townsend School for six weeks before going back to her regular school. Today, Emma is seizure-free and doing great. To the amazement of her mom, Emma is laughing for the first time in years. Marie thought she had lost her little girl yet thanks to the people here, her daughter has been given back to her. |
Children's Hospital including neurologist Dr. Luis Bello-Espinosa and neurosurgeon Dr. Walter Hader would attach 100 electrodes and stimulate different parts of Emma’s
brain to confirm exactly how much of her brain they needed to remove through a complex surgery. 
