Upcoming Surgery

Owen is having his VNS surgery this coming MONDAY! It was originally scheduled for June 18th; however, a nurse from the ENT clinic called today and asked if we wanted to fill a cancellation on June 4th....which is a short 4 days away. We are excited to get this procedure over with and see what this thing can really do for Owen. The surgery, so we are told, is an outpatient surgery. Complications are not expected and Owen should either be dismissed that same evening or the next morning. The surgeon will make a small incision in both his chest area and his neck. The chip (about the size of a quarter) will be placed in Owen's chest cavity. A cord will connect the chip to a nerve in the neck. This cord will send pulses to his entire brain and will hopefully stop a seizure before it begins. The chip is controlled by a computer, and it will not be turned on until his body heals. Owen already has an appointment June 15th to turn on the chip. He will be seen by his epileptologist probably every 2 weeks or so for a few months to adjust the pulse rate to make it compatible with the frequency and severity of his seizures. We are crossing our fingers and praying this does at least SOME good! I will update on Owen's condition post surgery.