When Bill Schrumpf suffered his first grand mal seizure two years ago, it took a videotape from a surveillance camera to diagnose it.
Schrumpf, the first patient to undergo epilepsy surgery with electrodes implanted in the brain at Spectrum Health, was 35 and working at Best Buy in Muskegon when he suffered the seizure. He doesnt remember what happened only that a co-worker found him walking around the store in a daze and incoherent.
He was rushed to Mercy Hospital, where doctors began tests to find out what happened. Schrumpf has a heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, so the focus was on a malfunctioning heart valve.
After six hours of tests, Schrumpf mentioned to his wife, Stacie, that his tongue hurt. It looked as if it had been mauled, he said.
Youve had a seizure, said Stacie, a school social worker.
A co-worker went to Best Buy and checked the video surveillance tape and found Schrumpfs seizure was captured on camera.
It was just plain dumb luck I had it on video the whole nine yards, Schrumpf said.
Schrumpf, who had electrodes placed in his brain June 4, is undergoing two weeks of monitoring in the epilepsy center at Spectrums Butterworth Hospital. A collection of 51 wires protrude from his skull, relaying information about the locations where his seizures originate.
On Monday, neurosurgeon Dr. Kost Elisevich plans to perform surgery to remove the part of the brain causing the seizures.
Related story: Read more about surgical treatment for epilepsy at Spectrum Health
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Videotape caught patient's grand mal seizure -- and led to epilepsy diagnosis