Boy, 6, 'cured' of epilepsy after going from 45 seizures a day to none thanks to pioneering surgery

Headgear: Tom needed to put on a unique helmet to safeguard him from injuries throughout his seizures

Little Tom Morley needed to put on a padded helmet constantly while he experienced 45 epileptic fits each day.

However the six-year-old from Ilkeston, Debyshire, has been seizure-free during the last three several weeks, because of a pioneering operation for kids in a leading hospital.

The schoolboy’s parents Andy and Carol had the helmet made specifically after Tom split his face open on stone steps throughout one collapse.

His father, 30, stated: 'He needed to visit hospital to be come up with again. He's an enormous scar there now.

'He also experienced other traumas, including numerous bruises and black eyes.

'It am difficult to cope with because we couldn’t leave him by himself whatsoever.

'He’d just drop just like a puppet whose strings happen to be cut.

'In the finish, we'd a unique padded helmet having a face support designed to safeguard his mind.'

Tom only agreed to be eight several weeks old when his parents first observed his condition.

'He was laying in mattress beside me and the mother, Carol, as he designed a terrible croaking noise,' stated Mr Morley, that has since split-up from his wife.

'His entire body went rigid, he then curled up right into a little ball. His eyes folded back and the mouth was available.

'He then began to show blue, because he couldn’t breathe. It had been terrifying.'

Healthy boy: Tom, right together with his father Andy Morley, left continues to be free from seizures for four several weeks since his operation

At hospital doctors think it is only a bug which had triggered a febrile seizure, which may be common in infants.

However they cautioned Tom would need to have further tests whether it happened again.

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Mr Morley's grandfather experienced from epilepsy, as his wife's cousins, then when Tom had another fit two several weeks later, his parents were ready for diagnosing.

Tom’s seizures began coming every 3 to 4 several weeks, each one of these identical to the first.

Then the moment he began nursery, he started to possess 5 or 6 per week.

When he was two-and-a-half, he was getting as much as 45 episodes each day, from myoclonic seizures, where area of the body jerks, to tonic-clonic seizures, where the entire body shakes.

Most generally, he experienced atonic seizures where every muscle in the body would relax, leading to him to fall.

'This triggered nasty injuries that have been heartbreaking to cope with,A Mr Morley, a graphic designer stated.

Medication assisted control the majority of the seizures however it was still being hard to steer clear of the atonic fits.

Then in March this past year, Tom had a surgical procedure to possess a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) inserted under his skin, prior to the vagus vein in the neck.

The unit functions in exactly the same like a pacemaker. It adjusts the electrical activity in Tom’s brain, reducing seizures and perhaps stopping them from occurring.

Tom like a baby, he only agreed to be eight several weeks old when his parents observed his condition

'The VNS had little effect to begin with, which left us disheartened because we'd read such advantages to it, but after 18 several weeks we now have began to determine a genuine improvement - and Tom continues to be seizure-free during the last three several weeks,' stated Mr Morley.

'To move from 45 each day to zero is completely fantastic. Tom calls his VNS his miracle battery. He still wears his helmet just safe, but we’ve finally had the ability to go ahead and take stairgates lower in the stairs.'

In addition to conquering his health issues, Tom has needed to address bullies and work even harder in school. 'People have requested how are we coped but you just need to cope with it, you've got no choice.

'I’ve always spoken to Tom about his epilepsy but he’s still in an age where he doesn’t completely understand.

'It accustomed to bother him but within the last couple of several weeks he's had the ability to do a lot more.

'There would be a time where he'd get home and say everyone was picking on him.

'It wouldn’t you need to be the kids, sometimes we’d hear parents sniggering around the playground too.

'Few people appear of looking after about or really understand epilepsy and that i suppose I had been most likely exactly the same six years back.

'When Tom first began school, getting as much as 45 seizures each day did interrupt his learning and the short-term memory.

'One day he’d learn to count to 5 - but he wouldn’t have the ability to get it done the following. But he's swept up very well together with his reading through and writing since he’s only slightly behind others.

'He’s just a little soldier and my inspiration'.