An Austin toddler’s life dramatically changed for the better following a hemispherotomy, a surgical procedure that disconnects the left and right sides of the brain from one another.
According to Stanford Medicine, the procedure is “reserved for the most severe cases of uncontrolled epileptic seizures coming exclusively from one side of the brain.”
Jack Frazier’s health problems started when he had a stroke at 3 months of age, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
His doctor, Karen Keough of Pediatrix Child Neurology Consultants of Austin, described it as “very surprising and unexplained” for an otherwise healthy child like Jack to have a stroke, as The Austin American-Statesman reported.
A CT scan revealed that Jack had developed a blood clot in the right side of his brain, which caused the stroke. After the stroke, Jack began having seizures. The child was hospitalized for two weeks as doctors tried various medications to get the seizures under control.
Two months later, Jack’s parents, Katy and Mackenzie Frazier, noticed something odd on his arm. Doctors discovered that Jack had suffered an aneurysm in his right brachial artery, the major blood vessel that supplies blood to the right arm.
When Jack was 7 months old, he underwent surgery at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to take out the affected artery and replace it with a vein. Jack was not able to crawl, as his arm had to be kept immobile.
Jack began to have ministrokes at night when he was 9 months old, resulting in him being put on a steroid, which proved helpful. Jack continued to have ministrokes and seizures, however.
By the time Jack reached 2 years of age, the Fraziers were feeling frustrated by Jack’s continued seizures and his resulting behavioral issues. Although Jack was walking, he was still nonverbal, prompting his parents to look for further options for their child.
In March 2021, further testing and studies on Jack’s brain revealed that all of Jack’s actions were being controlled by the left side of his brain, while the right side was essentially just causing seizures. In August, Dr. Keough recommended the hemispherotomy.
Katy asked Dr. Keough about any alternative treatments, and she was told that, without the surgery, Jack’s life would be “a reactive life.”
“He has seizures; we react. Nothing is proactive. We can’t guarantee he’s fine one day or the next,” Dr. Keough said, as reported by Austin American-Statesman.
In December 2021, one month before his third birthday, Jack had a hemispherotomy. Recovery from the surgery took about a month.
The Fraziers reported that, after the procedure, Jack kept making gains and changing every month.
“The surgery helped with getting Jack’s mind to be calm,” Katy told the Austin American-Statesman.
Jack slowly stopped using his seizure medication; by May, he was seizure-free with no medication.
Keough stated that Jack is “a great example of how much better things can get,” reported the Austin American-Statesman.
Katy said that Jack is now talking and loves going to the park and playing.
She said, “There’s a chance Jack could live a healthy life,” though his peripheral vision has been impaired from the stroke and he will still have a limp, as reported by The Austin American-Statesman.
Katy wrote a book for her son, Jack’s Brilliant Brain, about the first three years of his life.
