Hello Everybody!
Tomorrow morning I undergo the first of two scheduled surgeries in an attempt to eradicate my seizures.
Two "grids" will be placed surgically on the surface of my brain. One will be on my frontal lobe, and the other will be on my left temporal lobe. My seizure focus (The origin point of my seizures, which is the same cluster of neurons for every seizure) has been narrowed down to these two spots. The grids will record all epileptic activity between now and September 9th using EEG monitering. They will also be used for some other cool tests which I will explain later in my brain blog.
This first surgery will not eliminate seizures, so don't get too excited. It will begin a week-long (and end a years-long) process of gathering data in an attempt to discover the the exact spot within my brain that the seizures originate.
During the second surgery, the grids will be removed. If the seizure focus is located and it won't effect essential brain function to do so, (for example, speech or memory) the seizure focus (yes, part of my brain!) will also be removed. This is called "resection"
For some baffling reason, the first question I often get has to do with what my scars will look like. I'll take a picture in a couple days.
Also, along similar lines, they aren't going to shave my head, but if I have time today, I'm gonna shave my own head, because I can't wash my head during my stay at the hospital. You'll understand why when you see pictures of me. ...If I don't shave it, my hair will become sticky and smell like fart. Not pleasant.
Also
The risk of something going wrong is extremely low. I will be in a room filled with the most trustworthy surgeons and doctors in the world, and they know my brain well. They have been working on my case for a while now. However, you may not hear from me until Thursday because it takes some time to recover.
Later,
Paul's Brain
http://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/temporal-lobe-resection
