Jody had struggled with thoughts of his own demise for his whole life. As he got older, he began experiencing what he believed to be panic attacks.
His life changed after a 4th of July barbecue at his grandma's house, where 20 minutes after feeling a sensation he'd never felt before, Jody blacked out. From there, he was taken to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Many epileptic people can control their seizures with medications, but sadly that was not Jody's experience. The medications presented challenges to Jody, who was already struggling with his memory after experiencing a big seizure.
"Right after my first big seizure, my memory got a lot worse," Jody told The Doctors.
"I would forget what side of the street I lived on because the seizures were damaging the part of my brain that did that specific task, remembering where and when things are."
Doctors determined that Jody was a good candidate for brain surgery. He had two 4 cm portions of his brain removed.
Epileptologist and neurologist Dr. Manisha Holmes treated and performed Jody's surgery. She and her team were able to remove the portion of the brain that was causing Jody his extreme anxiety. In the four years since the surgery, he has remained seizure-free and off seizure medications.
