Patients' Feelings and Stories About Their Neurosurgery Treatments
The Department of Neurosurgery is committed to providing the highest quality of patient care.
It is an honor and a privilege to share a few of our patients' stories here.
Learn what others have experienced and the types of treatment they have undergone. Understand our patients' feelings about their treatments and increase your understanding of the issues facing your loved ones.
Jim's Story - Three Wishes for Our 'Superman'
He never really got sick and even when a bug attempted to invade his system, illness couldn’t keep him down and it definitely couldn’t compel him to see a doctor. But this time it was different.
Brad's Story - 16 Hour Brain Tumor Surgery
“I was a patient here in 2006 for a 16-hour resection of a brain tumor,” says Brad Lusk, a 68-year-old neurosurgery patient who was running 60 miles per week prior to finding out he had a growing meningioma tumor. I was fortunate to have Dr. Linda Liau perform my surgery. She’s one of the real superstars of UCLA.
Janice's Story - Traumatic Brain Injury
“I fell off my bicycle and had a traumatic brain injury. They were looking in my phone trying to figure out who I was when they decided that in order to survive I needed a craniotomy,” says Janice Thomspon, who was in a coma for 38 days following the surgical removal of part of her skull.
Dana's Story - Stroke
“I suffered a stroke at the age of 44,” says Dana Rivera, whose life changed in June 2009. “I was the picture of health, and I stopped off at a store to browse. I completely fainted. I suffered from a patent foramen ovale, which is an opening in your heart’s atrium wall.
Nikki's Story - Project Epilepsy
Four-year-old Nikki lives in Perth, Australia. She was born healthy, but two years ago, she began suffering seizures and was diagnosed with epilepsy. Despite medications, Nikki was still suffering up to 200 seizures every single day. Brain scans showed nothing and Nikki's parents were at their wits' end.
Aiden - Brain (Sturge-Weber Syndrome)
This rare congenital condition affects one in 50,000 Americans. In 4-year-old Aiden's case, a deep purple birthmark on his face and scalp was the first sign that he had this rare syndrome. The birth mark is associated with blood vessels within his brain that with seizures were slowly destroying cortex. Violent seizures threatened the destruction of the other hemisphere.
Mike - Spine
I was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord condition at the age of 31. I live in Columbus, Ohio, but was encouraged to find the best medical center for treatment. I began traveling around the country from hospital to hospital (including the Mayo Clinic, Mass General, the Cleveland Clinic, Cedars Sinai...) to see doctor after doctor in hopes of finding a treatment for my condition.
Lucy - Epilepsy and Tumor
Our only daughter Lucy, who is now 12-years old, was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis. For the past ten years, we have treated her with medications as prescribed by her doctors. But the last few years have been the most heart-wrenching years for Lucy and our family.
Robert - Brain Tumor
My husband, Bob, was diagnosed with a brain tumor on May 16, 2004. Bob's tumor is located in his right occipital cortex, the area of the brain that controls vision. The diagnosis was made after he began having visual seizures (he would see a kaleidoscope of colors and lights in his right eye). Since he was born blind in his left eye, visual issues with his right eye are taken very seriously.
Hank - Brain Tumor
On May 8, 2003 our lives were forever changed. We received a phone call from our neurologist saying that Hank had a brain tumor.
Jim - Spine Trauma
August 28, 2006 is a day that my life changed forever. It's a day that I have no recollection of. I only know what occurred by what others have told me and by the pictures and news footage that I have seen.
Cathy - Brain Tumor
What could have been the end of my life ended up being a beginning to a new and improved self. On that day, I was diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumor on my right frontal lobe.
Nichele - Spinabifida
I would like to introduce you to our daughter, Nichele, who will be 10 years old in October. While she is in public school with her third grade classmates, no one would ever guess that she has had 24 surgeries.
Evelyn - Brain Tumor
I met a new person on the road to recovery: myself. Awake? Asleep? It was hard to know. So much had happened, and here I was in a hospital bed. My husband, Frank was by my side.
