Surviving against all odds, only to develop post-traumatic seizures

I’m 51, and I’ve lived with focal epilepsy for nearly half of my life. At age 22, while I was still in college, a gang randomly attacked me in the bathroom of a movie theater and left me for dead.

My best friend found me unconscious on the floor, with blood pouring out of my right ear. Doctors told my mom and dad to get to the hospital as soon as possible if they wanted to see me alive.

I spent several days in a coma and wasn’t supposed to survive. It was a tough time, but I feel very lucky. Instead of having to spend six months in rehab, I recovered quickly and was back at school taking finals a few weeks later.

But the assault took its toll. It severed my olfactory nerve, so I can’t smell. I also have tinnitus (ringing in my ears).

I thought I was through everything, but my head injury is the gift that keeps on giving.

A few years later, I began having seizures. It turned out I had massive frontal lobe damage and my mastoid, the bone behind my ear, had been crushed.

Raising daughters while having more frequent and severe focal seizures

At first, I would start making a gargling sound or my eyes would go back in my head. I didn’t know what was going on. But these episodes got worse and worse, so there was no doubt there was an issue. It was scary for everyone, especially when my two daughters were little.

The episodes became more regular and more severe, occurring mostly in the middle of the night. An ambulance took me to the ER dozens of times, and each trip was expensive.

My neurologist said I had developed a type of epilepsy from my traumatic brain injury. It caused focal seizures which could become tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures. The worst ones were terrible because they happened during the night, and I ended up falling out of bed multiple times.

I got serious injuries from seizures that led to four surgeries, including a disk replacement in my neck. One time, I tore my shoulder. Another time, I ripped up my knee. I’ve had seizures at the gym, too. There’s no better way to have people notice you.

Turning to the RNS System to help seizures after head injury

I tried about a dozen anti-seizure medications over a three-year period. None of them seemed to help. On top of that, I had all kinds of seizure medication side effects — mood swings, fatigue, and itchiness.

In 2015, a friend who is a leading spine surgeon recommended I go to the comprehensive epilepsy center at Stanford for treatment. When my epileptologist (epilepsy specialist) told me that I seemed to be a good candidate for the RNS^® System, I was thrilled.

I researched it to see what exactly it was, and what kind of results I could expect. I had confidence in my doctors and knew I wasn’t having success with anything else, so I went for it.

I had blood work, a CT, and an MRI. I was in the hospital for about a week — taken off my medications — so the doctors could watch for and record my seizures. These epilepsy tests weren’t fun, but they were necessary to move forward and I knew it would be worth it.

Finally getting the RNS System was surprisingly easy for me. My surgery took only about an hour. Unlike other surgeries I’ve had, I felt good right away and was out of the hospital within a few days.

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Undergoing resection surgery with the RNS System

The data my RNS System recorded during the first 18 months gave my doctors more information about where my seizures began (my seizure focus). They felt they could safely remove that part of my brain, so I had a resection surgery, where they removed my right temporal lobe.

I was back at work in a few days and living my life as if nothing had happened. I felt great.

Seeing the RNS System data helped my doctors adjust the device settings based on my actual brain activity. They’ve made changes to improve seizure detection and stimulation. They’ve also used the data to adjust my medications. It feels like there’s far more seizure control now.

I try to download my data every other day and send it to my doctors every other Sunday. If I have a seizure, I download the info and send it ASAP. I have zero sensation while downloading, and it only takes 2 or 3 minutes, so it’s absolutely no big deal.

To give my doctors the best possible picture of things happening in my life, I also keep a seizure diary where I document how I felt before a seizure and the details of the seizure. I love being able to talk about it when I go in to see my neurologist. It’s interesting to see how neurostimulation works with the actual electricity in my brain.

Friends are always curious about whether I have any problem with air travel and security, which I don’t. When I first started traveling again, I’d tell the TSA agent about my neurostimulator and was always assured that it wasn’t a problem.

My dramatic drop in seizures

Before getting the RNS System, I experienced 12 to 15 seizures per month. With the device and resection surgery, I’ve only experienced maybe two or three clinical seizures per year. So, I’m practically seizure free.

It gives me a sense of security to know that I’ve got the RNS always working for me. It helps to lower my stress, which is a huge seizure trigger for me. Both my long- and short-term memory remain intact, as well as my moods and personality. My energy level has also gotten better as a result of not having as many seizures while I sleep.

Feeling safer and confident, now more than ever

I’ve always had the attitude that I’m not going to worry about what I can’t control — like getting seizures after a head injury. But the RNS System has changed my life for the better, for everybody.

I’m safer than I was. And I’m a lot happier knowing that my wife, parents, and kids all feel more at ease because I’m having less seizures. I have no buyer’s remorse, whatsoever.

I have a sense of confidence knowing that my doctors always know what’s going on. When they tell me I’m doing really well, that makes me feel so good. And more than feeling good, it’s fact — it’s documented. They can actually see that I’m doing better, and so can I.

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Published on: February 24, 2026

This represents the experience of individual(s) who have used the RNS System.  Individual results will vary.