Epilepsy sufferer travels to London for specialist help
Friday, April 12, 2013
A woman with severe epilepsy, who has waited more than two years for vital tests, has travelled to London to begin a process that could lead to life-changing treatment.
However, the HSE was forced to reverse its decision on foot of negative publicity when the Irish Examiner highlighted Ms OConnors plight and the fact that appropriate services are not available in Ireland.
While there are two units one at Beaumont and another at Cork University Hospital equipped to carry out the kind of specialist monitoring Ms OConnor requires, neither is open because of a lack of money to staff them.
Yesterday, she flew to London with her mother Attracta, to meet with Prof John Duncan, a consultant neurologist specialising in epilepsy, in the first step of a process she hopes will lead to better-controlled epilepsy and improved quality of life.
Ms OConnor, who is blind, met Prof Duncan at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queens St, London, for interview. She hopes to be sent shortly for specialist testing which will help determine if she is a suitable candidate for surgery. When successful, surgery can reduce the rate of seizure from daily attacks to none.
Her father Tom said he was delighted his daughter had finally been given the opportunity to access services what could lead to life-changing treatment.
We are thrilled that its finally getting off the ground.
The tests Ms OConnor requires are a form of telemetry monitoring known as video EEG monitoring. Mr OConnor said the hope is that his daughter will spend at least three weeks in an epilepsy monitoring unit. The units are a safe environment in which to observe seizures round the clock, with a view to helping make a definitive diagnosis, helping identify which part of the brain seizures are occurring in, and whether a patient might benefit from surgery.
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Epilepsy sufferer travels to London for specialist help