Finding Freedom By Caiti Bobbitt In fall 2019, Kootenai Health opened northern Idaho’s first-ever Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU). This state-of-the-art unit brought answers and life-changing results for epilepsy and seizure patients across the region. An EMU is a unit in the hospital run by specialists in epilepsy. Specially designed patient rooms allow in-depth diagnostic and treatment services for people experiencing seizures or epilepsy that may be difficult to diagnose or treat. “We have really been able to modernize the treatment of patients with seizures,” Cliff Hampton, M.D., Kootenai Clinic neurologist, said. “We can find another diagnosis and get people off their seizure meds, identify other medications that will suit patients better, or provide surgical intervention after accurately pinpointing what is causing their seizures.” ‘It gave me hope’ Prior to his stay in the EMU, physicians thought they had pinpointed the root cause of 23- year-old Andrew Challinor’s seizures. “Seizures can change everything,” said Andrew. “The plans and dreams you have for your life can all change because of them.” Andrew was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 17. His seizures began to worsen until he eventually found himself in the care of Dr. Hampton. “At one of my first appointments, he looked me in the eyes and said, ‘We aren’t going to stop until you are seizure-free.’ That meant so much to me as someone who was having seizures every two weeks at that point,” said Andrew. “Hearing those words was incredible—it gave me hope.” Andrew spent much of his childhood living in Panama, where his parents did missionary work. While there, he contracted a neurocysticercosis parasite. According to Dr. Hampton, that is the cause of epilepsy in most patients around the world. While the parasite in Andrew’s brain had died, it left a cyst behind that was detected on an MRI. “Had we only gone off the MRI, we would have likely sent Andrew in for surgery to remove the cyst,” explained Dr. Hampton. However, a stay in the EMU determined the root cause of Andrew’s seizures was not from the cyst but from a different part of the brain. “That is an important distinction to make, because if you are sending a patient to a surgeon, you want to make sure you are targeting the area causing the seizures,” said Dr. Hampton. “I really appreciate the EMU staff and the care I received,” said Andrew. “I’ve had a lot of doctors’ visits and hospital stays at different organizations over the years, and the care I received at Kootenai Health was by far the best.” Since his stay, Andrew has graduated from college, gotten married and begun his career. Thanks to the EMU’s technological care and recent advancements in seizure and epilepsy medication, he has not had a seizure in two years. “I can’t think of the last time I had a patient where I thought, ‘Well, we are out of options,’” said Dr. Hampton. “There is always something we can do to get people back to a high quality of life.” Andrew credits Dr. Hampton for doing just that. For starters, Andrew is now able to drive a car after nearly four years of having to depend on others. “It’s given me so much freedom,” he said. “From the beginning, you could tell Dr. Hampton was a man who wanted to help me. It was not just a job for him. It was a mission for him. He wants to help his patients be seizure-free.” The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit has expanded its capacity to meet the growing need across the region. To learn more about the EMU and Kootenai Clinic Neurology, visit KH.org/neurology. One patient’s road to becoming seizure-free Andrew Challinor now enjoys a seizure-free life with his wife, Kelsie. KH.ORG 5
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