According to the CDC, there are about 3.4 million people with epilepsy nationwide. Saturday, March 26 is Purple Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about epilepsy and its impacts.
A North Texas family knows all too well how difficult epilepsy can be to live with. But thanks to Children's Health, they also have a story of hope.
Jordan Moreno is now six years old. He does everything a kid his age loves. He plays video games, he's active in sports and has an obsession with the beaver mascot at Buc-ee's.
But two years ago, his family's world was turned upside down by a diagnosis of cortical dysplasia.
Jordan suffered a seemingly random seizure.
"As we got home we noticed he had an episode that was abnormal to us where he stood there and was unresponsive," his mom Ana said. "Dad noticed it first, he couldn't get him to snap out of it...and then out of nowhere he just reacted like 30 seconds later."
After consulting with the family, they rushed Jordan to Children's Health, where the diagnosis was made.
Cortical dysplasia is one of the most common causes of epilepsy and seizures. Jordan quickly began to experience around 50 seizures each day when his family began weighing surgical options.
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The ultimate recommendation was to remove the portion of his brain that was causing seizures.
That wasn't easy on his dad, Esteban.
"At first I was against it," Esteban said. "I didn't want that for my son. Luckily the doctors (Dr. Angela Price and Dr. Dallas Armstrong) were the best!"
After much preparation, Jordan’s care team at Children’s Health was able to successfully remove the portion of his brain that was causing seizures.
"As we sit here today, everything went well, he responded well..." Ana said.
"And actually," Jordan butts-in "Actually, I went back to life."
Jordan has been seizure free for two years.
Today he's happy, healthy, active, and strong. And a great reminder of the importance of Purple Day.
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