The right epilepsy treatment gave Jacqueline back her life

Jacqueline knew something was very, very wrong.

“I had a car accident, and the next day I started having seizures,” Jacqueline said. “The seizures felt like something electrical running back and forth across my forehead.

“I went to my doctor, and he sent me over to the neurologist. We then discovered that the electrical feelings were a partial type seizure. I discovered I had epilepsy.”

She said she was a little unsure what to expect.

After visiting Dr. Aboukasm, her neurologist, she felt a whole lot better. “He’s so kind. When I go into his office, I feel very safe. He makes me feel like I’m the only patient that he has.”

Dr. O’Neil, another St. John neurologist, explains, “St. John Health System is a center of excellence for neurosciences. We have the latest advanced techniques and treatments for epilepsy.”

In severe cases, surgery is sometimes recommended to stop the seizures, but in Jacqueline’s case medication was prescribed. Dr. O’Neil said, “In the last 10 years, we have many more medications available to treat epilepsy. We now have more than 22 medications available to us, two of which have become available just in the past three months.”

“It’s very frightening,” Jacqueline says, “to have something like this, maybe even more so at an older age … to just all of a sudden have so many limits that you had never had before.”

But Jacqueline was always optimistic about the outcome, “With the care of my doctor and the care of the St. John Health System, I knew I’d be OK.”

In addition to other restrictions, Jacqueline was told she could not drive. She wasn’t even allowed to be alone with her grandkids until they found the right medication for her. It was extremely frustrating, but she could feel herself improving as they adjusted her medication and worked to make her better.

“My doctor has helped me to get the control back into my life,” Jacqueline explains. “I was able to return to driving and doing things. I can go shopping when I want to go shopping. I don’t have to wait until somebody’s available to give me a ride. I can watch my grandchildren all by myself.”

“My treatments made all this possible … gave it all back to me so I’m able to be a grandmother again. It means everything to me.”