Respected doctor,
This article is about Nishit Desai's epilepsy history from the start of the problem till the surgery done before 3 months.
My brother got his first epilepsy attack when he was 6 years old, he was accompanied by my mother in an auto rickshaw, wherein he fainted and mom was completely unaware of what was happening, still she gathered the guts to go to a local doctor and give him sedation as another attack shouldn't follow till she reaches a big hospital where he can get treated in the right manner.
Soon medication began but as we were taking homeopathic medicines, my mom though of showing him to a homeopathic doctor as she was unaware about the intensity of this problem. She thought that It must be like any other small illness which could be cured through this particular treatment as well. So for 2 years she was supposed to give tagretol to Nishit, as per guided by the doctor whom she consulted initially, But she chose to give him homeopathic medicine and deprived him of tagretol. This resulted in a disaster at the end of 2 years as he got his second big attack and was rushed to the proper neurologist. He told us that mom made a big mistake by opting for homeopath as epilepsy cannot be stopped or cured so easily.
Soon she started with the right treatment guided by the best neurologist in the town before 15 years. But now we understood that the problem Nishit had was very grave and that the smaller attacks were very frequent, say either twice or thrice in a month or else every fortnight. We visited all possible neurologists in the town and to stop the attacks, medicine dosage was increased very frequently.
But the side effect of all this started to show in a major way. Nishit, who once was the most active kid we had ever known, started showing signs of dullness, loss of perfection in many areas, was not able to study with concentration and many more. Now this was a worrisome factor so we decided to get a solution. But everywhere there was only one suggestion, that he should get operated. My mom and I used to get cold feet even thinking about a surgery.
As he grew older, according to his weight and age, medicines kept on increasing, till a limit where he used to consume 3000mg per day. My brother who used to climb up trees 8 his childhood and was known for how quick he was, could not even get up quickly to get himself a glass of water. Everyday we used to think what should be done until once mom decided to get the MRI done and show it to Dr.Jayanti Mani.
Her name was suggested to us by another neurologist whom we used to consult. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise ,as when she got his Video EEG, Pet Scan, Spect Scan and MRI done, she told us that all this could be reduced or even stopped if we get Nishit operated. All the results were showing a solution but it was very difficult for us to take this decision . Seeing my brother suffer every single day with attacks so frequent and unable to be active, we did give a serious thought. Though we were scared, Dr. Jayanti Mani gave us the confidence that there was nothing to get worried about and that we should meet the neurosurgeon.
Finally we met Dr.Abhay Kumar , he guided us and told us the pros and cons about the surgery. There were chances that Nishit would get paralyzed, but that would be temporary and was solvable with physiotherapy. The other possible problem would be a major blood loss, but that could also be solved by giving him blood extrenally. So whatever the consequences, there was some or the other solution except an extreme situation. But we had to take a chance as Nishit was in a way dying everyday due to medicines and attacks. So we took a decision and just confided in both our doctors and proceeded on with the surgery plan.
Nishit got operated on the 14th of October 2014. When he was in the operation theatre , there was only prayers we could rely on. After around 10 hours of the whole procedure nishit was shifted in the ICU, and the doctors said he was absolutely fine. We heaved a sigh of relief. I could see the happiness in my mother's eyes. For 17 long years, everyday and every night, she used to only think of nishit's medicines and whether he is fine or about to get an attack. I was longing to see a satisfied face and there it was. All thanks to Dr.Abhay Kumar and Dr.Jayanti Mani.
Surgery had its own set of pain and uneasiness, but comparitively, it was easier for Nishit to recover as he was taken care of and we were relieved that we were in safe hands. Today it's been more than 3 months, he is absolutely fine, no attacks, and gradually medicines will also decrease.
It is nothing short of a second birth after his surgery and it was due to 2 great doctors. They are next to God for us as if this would not have happened, a nishit could have never lived his life to the fullest. Thanking you is an understatement.
Regards
Smeet Shrimankar
Nishit's sister
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