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PHOENIX - November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and nearly 500,000 Americans are living with the disease.
One Valley woman lived with it for years and when her seizures became so unbearable that she couldn't drive or be left alone, she went to Mayo Clinic Arizona for help.
Before she became a wife and mom of three, Nicole Phillips was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2009 as a teen. With medication, her seizures were controlled and she lived a normal life. But eventually, they came back.
"I wasn’t able to drive, I wasn’t able to really do anything," Phillips said. "I think that’s because of how sick I was. I was always just lying down."
Phillips was sent to Mayo Clinic in Arizona where Dr. Jonathon Parker is a neurosurgeon.
"She (Phillips) had seizures that were no longer responsive to medication, and when that happens, we really have to look at surgical options to try to control the seizures," Dr. Parker said.
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Removing part of womans brain ends epilepsy struggle
An Arizona woman is sharing the story of how her life was completely changed after part of her brain was removed to end her intense struggle with epilepsy. FOX 10s Ellen McNamara reports.
Dr. Parker says brain surgery was the best option. A resection removes the abnormal brain tissue that is causing the seizures.
"For Nicole, we had to be very, very careful because this abnormality on her imaging was right next to the motor center of the brain," Dr. Parker said.
That, of course, sounded scary to Phillips.
"I was just scared because they were actually going in and taking part of my brain out," Phillips said. "And though we knew they were going to be taking a part of the brain out that was causing the seizures, we also didn’t know what was around it."
With cutting-edge technology to map the brain, surgeons like Dr. Parker, and a large team at Mayo Clinic, the 29-year-old is now seizure-free.
A recent scan shows the missing brain tissue.
"I’m back to being a mom. All three kids are in multiple sports, and I do all of that with them," Phillips said. "I’m driving, working, I just became a business owner with my wedding company, which is huge. To think a year ago I wasn’t even able to be with my kids or leave my couch. Now I’m able to do everything with them. I have my life back again."
Immediately after surgery, Phillips lost some feeling on her left side. However, she says that feeling returned within just a few months after her brain surgery.
This Thanksgiving, she and her husband J.W. are thankful.
"Oh my goodness, what am I not thankful for? My health, obviously, my kids, my family, my husband, the surgery, the list goes on," Phillips said.
Dr. Parker says that if you have epilepsy, and medications no longer work to control your seizures, you should be evaluated by a surgical team.
Learn more about epilepsy here.