Donate to Aid Landon's Brain Surgery and Recovery

Landon was a happy and healthy 11 year old boy who was doing very well in school and spent all of his free time playing basketball for his school team. Life as him and his family knew it sadly changed on December 27, 2023 when Landon was diagnosed with epilepsy.

The doctors tried to remain optimistic but we knew that this diagnosis would forever limit Landon’s life – he was told he may never drive a car, he wasn’t safe to ride a bike, he couldn’t swim, he couldn’t be left unattended for any period of time and he wouldn’t be able to play basketball, at least until his seizures were controlled.

The doctors were hopeful that with the right medication, he could reach a point that his seizures would be ‘controlled’ enough that he could resume some of his normal activities but sadly that wasn’t the case. His family spent the last year trying at least six (6) different medications, all unsuccessful. Landon was hospitalized on numerous occasions due to the severity and frequency of the seizures which reached up to an alarming 20 seizures in a day. These hospitalizations lasted up to 2 weeks at a time.

Landon’s seizures can last up to three (3) minutes each time and he is left feeling very confused, fatigued and has no recollection of the minutes, sometimes hours, preceding the seizure which made school difficult if not impossible. Landon was due to start middle school in September 2024. His time in school was short lived as his seizures were having such a profound impact on his ability to get through the day so Landon will be doing homeschooling at least for the next 26 weeks.

During his appointment on November 20, 2024, Landon’s neurologist opined that Landon had ‘drug-resistant focal epilepsy’ meaning that the epilepsy could not be controlled by medication. His family was informed that the seizures were causing permanent damage to his brain, specifically the region of his brain that controlled his memory and speech. The only feasible option was brain surgery. Since November 20th, his team at Seattle Children’s Hospital has been diligently scheduling and conducting various tests including a functional MRI, PET brain scan, etc. The next big step in the process was an sEEG which consisted of a neurosurgeon drilling 13 small holes into Landon’s skull and placing electrodes into his brain to monitor the seizures and help pinpoint where they begin to better prepare for surgery. This surgery took place on February 5.

Landon will now remain in the hospital with the electrodes placed in his brain until the team can collect enough data. This could be anywhere from a week to several weeks. The electrodes will need to be surgically removed after the data is collected and the team will decide the best options for surgery to help to minimize the seizure activity.

This has understandably had a significant impact on this family and any assistance would help to alleviate the toll this has taken and allow them to focus on Landon, this process and his recovery. We appreciate you taking the time to read Landon’s story and for your generosity in helping this family in their time of need.