These joyful words, accompanied by a big hug, were what greeted me on the cold, frosty morning of January 11, 1997 as I was welcomed by Michael Gallant to his mother's home in Urbainville, Prince Edward Island. I had gone there to have an interview with Michael and his family concerning Michael's seizure disorder and recent surgery to put together a story of hope for others with epilepsy.
Michael was just beaming with happiness. He had been seizure-free since his operation on October 30, 1996 at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia - an operation performed by Doctor Howes to remove scar tissue on Michael's brain which had been there for some time - possibly since 1967.
During the 1980's Michael became an active member of Epilepsy Prince Edward Island Inc., which had been formed in 1979. Mike did a good deal of fund raising for the association. He won several awards from Epilepsy P.E.I .Inc. for being the organization's leading fund raiser.
Michael had always expressed an interest in helping other people who had epilepsy and had suggested riding his bicycle across Canada to promote interest in this neurological disorder. Epilepsy P.E.I .Inc, being a small association, felt that this venture would prove too expensive and pose many difficulties for Michael, but suggested to him that should he decide to have an operation to remove the scar tissue in his head, he might wish to tell the story of his life before and after surgery. Mike readily agreed. This is Michael's story - as told to me by his mother, various family members, and by Michael himself, on January 11, 1997.
Michael was born in Urbainville, Prince Edward Island on February 17, 1961 to Alphie and Florence Gallant. He was the fourteenth child in a family of sixteen children and the youngest son in the family. He has two younger sisters. According to his mother, Michael was a happy child who showed no signs of seizure activity. Nothing unusual occurred until around Christmas time, 1966 when Michael was five years old.
On December 26, 1966 Michael was taken to the Prince County Hospital in Summerside because he lost the use of his legs and couldn't walk. After staying there for ten days Michael was sent to the IWK Children's Hospital and to the Victoria General Hospital, both of which are in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Tests were done to determine what was the matter with the little boy. After a month or so of various tests in Halifax the doctors concluded that Michael's paralysis was caused by a brain tumour, so an operation was done to remove the tumour - only to find out after opening up Michael's skull that no tumour was present.
The doctors in Halifax were mystified. There was nothing for them to do but to close the opening, which they did with twenty-one stitches. Since no tumour was present it was concluded that the paralysis was caused by a serious viral infection. Not much hope was given that Michael would get any better.
"They told me that I might as well take Michael home. Nothing more could be done by the doctors in Halifax. They told me that Mike would only die, so he might as well be home," Florence Gallant recalled.
Michael did not go directly home from Halifax, but rather back to the Prince County Hospital in Summerside, P.E.I. His doctor there was Dr. Saunders. Michael was treated with a great deal of medication for infection and became like a vegetable. He couldn't talk. He couldn't walk. To complicate matters further, while in hospital Michael took chicken pox and developed a high fever. In all, Michael spent nearly five months in hospital - one month in Halifax and four months in Summerside. Between January and April of 1967 Michael was taking 28 pills a day to fight infection. Finally, in May, 1967, he was allowed to go home.
"When Mike came home in May of 1967 he was starting to walk again and to talk. His first word was ba-na-na (banana)," his mother recalled. "He didn't go back to the hospital for quite some time. He was on daily medication at home."
Michael started school that fall. He seemed to get along well except for sometimes suddenly falling on the ground while on his way to or from school. He once again was taken to the doctor. The doctor told the family that Michael had epilepsy and he prescribed medication to control this neurological disorder.
Between the late 1960's and the early 1990's Michael and his family continued to monitor Michael's epilepsy. When new medications became available - especially during the 1980's - Michael was willing to try them to see whether or not his spells would be reduced, or better still, controlled enough so that he could become more independent. He was willing to try almost anything to become seizure-free, for he wanted to be able to drive and to do other things that seizure-free people take for granted. However, his spells were not very much reduced through medication. Even when Michael tried "natural" medicines in combination with his seizure medication little change occurred.
It was hard not to give in to discouragement.
Finally, in 1992 Dr. Marc Sadler, who was a neurosurgeon in Halifax at the time, suggested to Michael and his family that Michael would be a very good candidate for surgery to remove the scar tissue on his brain that was responsible for causing the epilepsy. There was always a risk to such surgery, but still an excellent chance for full recovery.
At first, Michael thought that the risks were too high. Anything could go wrong and he might be worse off than he was. It wasn't until the fall of 1996 that the desire to be seizure-free won out against Michael's fears and he decided to undergo surgery. Once he made up his mind to go through with the surgery, Michael's family supported him wholeheartedly.
On Monday, October 28, 1996 Michael was admitted to the Victoria General Hospital in Halifax, and his epilepsy medication was stopped. Electrodes were placed on the left side of his head that day and on Tuesday. Michael was told during this time what to expect after surgery - that he would have headaches after the surgery for several days and would be weak and tired, but that this was normal following such surgery.
On Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM Michael was prepared for surgery. Dr. Sadler and Dr.Howes were two of the team working to remove the scar tissue on Michael's brain which appeared responsible for his seizures. The term "mesial temporal sclerosis" refers to this scarring, which often responds well to surgery. Michael was in the operating room undergoing surgery for six and one-half hours, after which he went to the recovery room and the Intensive Care Unit for 24 hours. Between 34 and 38 stitches in a circular shape on the right side of his partially-shaved head, a swelling around his right eye and cheek, and some slight bruising in the facial area were the only visible effects of this long, sensitive surgery.
"After the surgery I had some very bad headaches, some drowsiness and was sick to my stomach by times," Michael stated, "but being told beforehand what to expect helped a lot. My family were very supportive. I certainly want to thank them for their support and also the staff and doctors at the V.G. Everyone was great."
He continued, "Two ladies came to visit me, one from Kentville. Both of them had the same operation that I did, and both recovered fully. They are very independent now. One of them has moved out of her parent's home and now has her own place. The other is now able to cook, prepare meals, is working out of home and is very happy."
Michael stayed at the Victoria General Hospital for fifteen days after his operation before returning to his home in Urbainville. He had headaches for two or three weeks after returning home, then they diminished. Now he seldom has headaches. He has been seizure-free since his operation. He has only one kind of medication to take - and that may be unnecessary after a year or so if seizures do not re-occur. The scar from his operation is barely noticeable because his hair is growing back nicely.
In early January,1997 Michael began an upgrading class at College d'Acadie in nearby Wellington. To this point he is doing quite well and enjoying his classes.
"Michael is such a changed person since his operation," his mother noted. "He's so happy and cheerful."
"I was kind of scared to have that operation in October", said Michael, "but now I'm glad I had it. It's so good to be able to do things and not worry about having a seizure. I feel like an entirely different person!"
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