"He was on three different

medications, but he was still experiencing eight or more seizures a day,"

said Brown.

The disease forced Dontavius

and his family to make certain lifestyle changes. Because the seizures

affected the right side of his body, Dontavius taught himself to write

with his left hand. He could only play outside if someone was there with

him, to catch him and lay him down if he began experiencing a seizure.

Even when he was taking a shower, his mother had to be nearby, in case

he fell. Worse, his classmates began avoiding him, not understanding what

was happening to Dontavius' body.

Brown knew something had to

change. A friend told her about a children's hospital in Augusta.

In 1996, she and Dontavius made their first visit to the MCG Children's

Medical Center to meet with Dr. Yong Park, an epilepsy specialist at the

MCG Epilepsy Center.

Established in 1977, the MCG

Epilepsy Center includes an epilepsy surgery program that is one of the

most experienced in the country, as well as an investigational drug study

program that allows patients access to the newest drug treatments available.

"We evaluated Dontavius

in our Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit for a week, tracking the focus

of his seizures," said Dr. Park. "What we found was that the

left central area of Dontavius' brain was causing the drug-resistant

seizures. Unless we performed brain surgery to remove this area of the

brain, his seizures would continue to get worse and worse."

Brown, who remembers telling

her own mother that the one type of surgery she never wanted to have was

brain surgery, had a tough decision to make.

"I talked to my family

about it for a week or two," said Brown. "My mom - she's

my rock - she said, 'You have to think of him. It's not

your life. If this will make him better, you need to do it while he's

young. You need to do it now.'"

After much discussion and prayer,

Dontavius underwent surgery in November 1996. He emerged having to wear

a protective helmet for a time and still taking medication, but the seizures

had stopped.

Brown was happy, but remained

tentative. "It was exciting, but scary. I still had to watch him

because I wasn't sure it would work."

In 1999, Dr. Park began stepping

down Dontavius' medication. By December, Dr. Park recommended taking

Dontavius completely off the medication, providing the family with a prescription

just in case.

"It was a tense Christmas,"

said Brown with a laugh. "I was watching him like a hawk."

Now 15 and a 10th-grader, Dontavius

has been seizure-free for 7 years. A good student, he's also run

track for the past three years, and is interested in trying out for the

basketball team.

"He missed out on a lot

while he was growing up," said Brown. "He remembers, but he

doesn't like talking about it. I just say thank God for MCG."

MCG Health System is composed

of three separate organizations - MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical

services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia

and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. The physicians of MCG

Health System are community physicians and faculty employees of the Medical

College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group, not employees of

MCG Health Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating

the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children's Medical Center, the MCG Sports

Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy

Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc.

was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical

College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state

of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for faculty employees

of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group and

community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty

health care. For more information, visit www.MCGHealth.org.

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