“It was like he just...froze,” says Michael, describing the experience of his family when four years ago, their son Harrison had what they would eventually learn was a focal seizure during dinner at the family’s beach house in Maryland. 

Harrison, then 6, had never had a seizure, and that day, had shown no signs that something was off. But sitting at the dinner table that evening, he was suddenly completely unresponsive, though, thankfully, breathing. 

Michael and Meredith, Harrison’s parents, were terrified. They called 9-1-1, but en route to the local hospital, Harrison stopped breathing, and the ambulance driver pulled over to resuscitate him. Still unconscious at the hospital, Harrison was intubated; when Meredith asked whether her son would survive, she was told simply “to pray.” 

Harrison was soon medivacked to a pediatric trauma center, where he underwent a plethora of tests – including an MRI and spinal tap – to rule out a series of life-threatening diagnoses. He remained intubated for two days while his parents took turns by his bedside until the little boy could finally breathe on his own.  

Harrison’s eventual diagnosis – epilepsy – came as a tremendous shock to his parents, who, like many people, had only ever witnessed a tonic-clonic (also known as grand mal) seizure, during which a person’s body and limbs stiffen and shake.   

At first Harrison’s parents were relieved by the diagnosis. “We didn’t know then what his life would be like or how his epilepsy would impact him,” Michael says. 

In search of a better way 

For two years, Harrison underwent a series of unsuccessful treatments. Various anti-seizure medications and combinations of medications left him with a host of uncomfortable side-effects, including bloating, weight gain, fatigue and anxiety that led to many school absences.  

During that time, he experienced close to 100 auras, an unusual feeling that can occur before a seizure and can be part of the seizure itself. One particularly severe breakthrough seizure left Harrison unable to fully participate in his family’s vacation to Disney World. Says Meredith, “it was like a cloud was surrounding him all the time.”  

A follow-up MRI identified the cause of Harrison’s epilepsy: mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) – scarring in the temporal lobe, the part of the brain near the temples. The temporal lobe plays a role in managing emotions, processing information from the senses, memory and understanding language. MTS is the most common cause of focal seizures in the temporal lobe.   

Harrison’s parents had hoped he might one day grow out of his neurological disorder, as many children do. But MTS is a lifelong condition, and since medical therapy had proven unsuccessful, Harrison’s doctors felt that surgical resection – a type of open brain surgery in which part of the temporal lobe would be removed – was their best option.  

Dismayed that open brain surgery was the current standard of care, Michael and Meredith began to look for a better option. Through a series of family and work connections, the family was finally led to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). 

An innovative solution found at CHOP 

From the family’s first meeting with Benjamin Kennedy, MD, the Director of Epilepsy and Functional Neurosurgery in CHOP’s Division of Neurosurgery, “[We felt] like [we] were actually going to be taken care of,” says Michael. 

CHOP’s expert team of top-ranked neurologists and neurosurgeons got to work. A change in medication left Harrison with a temporary reduction in auras, and a series of tests – including ten days in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit – confirmed the team’s hopes: Harrison was an ideal candidate for laser ablation brain surgery.   

Laser ablation brain surgery, also known as laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), uses heat from precisely focused lasers to treat epilepsy by removing the source of seizure activity – in Harrison’s case, the scar tissue in his temporal lobe. Unlike resection, laser ablation is minimally invasive and poses less risk of damage to the brain tissue critical for important cognitive functions. CHOP is one of only a few children’s hospitals in the country offering this innovative, and potentially life-changing, treatment.   

On Sept. 28, 2023, Harrison underwent laser ablation. After a procedure that took several hours, Dr. Kennedy emerged, looking, says Michael, “like a Super Bowl MVP. He said, ‘We got it’!”   

Meredith and Michael had been worried about the possibility of Harrison’s speech being affected by the procedure. But when their son woke up, their fears were instantly allayed. “Where’s my Nintendo Switch?” Harrison asked. 

“A totally different kid”  

Since the ablation, Harrison has remained seizure-free. While the family is hesitant to call the procedure a cure, they are certain their choice has improved Harrison’s quality of life. While Harrison had once seemed “like a cloud was following him around, he’s now full of light,” says Meredith. “Dr. Kennedy gave our son back his life. [Harrison] is a totally different kid.” 

“Heaven will have to wait for him,” adds Michael.  

Now 9, Harrison enjoys spending time with his little sister and his two dogs, gardening and even cooking! On a recent family vacation – the first since Harrison’s seizure in Disney World – Harrison made delicious, fresh pasta in Italy, and continues to do so at home.   

Harrison’s family is so grateful for the care they received at CHOP, they’ve started a fund to support the development of novel neurosurgical strategies, improve outcomes for children with epilepsy and help other families impacted by epilepsy access neurosurgery for their children. 

“It’s not just the revolutionary work that Dr. Kennedy is doing,” says Michael. “It’s the way the team – the neurosurgeons, the neurologists, the neuropsychologists and the nurses – work together seamlessly. Above all, it’s the human factor, the care they provide families. We want people to know this kind of care is out there – it's possible, and it’s right here at CHOP.”