Surgery-left temporal lobectomy

Hello, my name is Alex. I am scheduled for a left temporal lobectomy Nov 7th, 2023.

I was diagnosed in July of 2020 with epilepsy. My first grand mal seizure was the scariest thing in my life to happen at 42, at the time. Continuing going to work, 3 months later having another seizure in my sleep. Still continuing my employment i had a grand mal at work, falling face first into pavement. Overnight stay at Airia Torresdale Hospital for monitoring was mandatory. This continued to happen to the point where hospital and specialist visits were frequent. Since the grand mal at work i was put on light duty. I worked light duty until i was medically cleared to return to full duty. At this point i have been prescribed Keppra, for those that don't know...it has very aggressive and anger side effects commonly known as Keppra rage. Once myself and my specialist realized this, my prescription was changed to depakote which made me a zombie and had a hard time waking up and performing at work for 8 hours. All the meanwhile partial seizures had been breaking through the medication. With the partials breaking through we then decided on Vimpat.

This prescription was working fine till I had a grand mal seizure driving home from work on I95 in NE Philly around 830pm. 80 MPH from the far left hand lane into the right, unconscious. Flipping the guard rail landing in a tree on Aramingo Ave that was directly under the highway. I was cut out of my car and sent again to Airia Hospital. Speaking with a different neurologist there i was told that my PA drivers license had been medically suspended due to the seizures. I was released from the hospital at 3am with no way of getting home. I called a very good friend of mine who took me 60 miles home. I was put on short term disability which ended up going into long term disability.

Applying now for social security disability. While all this is happening after being cooped up at home i decided to attempt a nice spring day at a BMX park in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. This wonderful spring day did not last very long. Boom! Grand mal. With this seizure happening in mid air i landed shoulder first onto the track then bouncing twice. At this point I now had a rotator cuff injury becoming a frozen shoulder.

Everything was done, physical therapy you name it i did it. Constantly compliant with meds and therapy, 2 months later I had another seizure while building a swing for our backyard.

Long term disability has ended, 2 applications for social security were denied which led to ALJ hearing which was deemed unfavorable, epilepsy is not a disability on the Social security administration level.

I fixed my credit in the 14 months I have been out on LTD. Was able to get my license back and having it transferred from PA to NJ. Financed a new car on my own, with no help. Something I was very proud of. Four months into owning , driving on the black horse pike I lost consciousness due to a grand mal. Car totaled. Me ending up in the hospital again. Now with a NJ license medically suspended. The SSDA believes I am capable of working. Without having a driving license in NJ is nearly impossible. Now on my 5th med change my specialist is recommending either surgery or an implant. This is life changing. I either deal with having my license suspended every 6 months possibly causing fatalies. Or, living with a speech impediment or poor motor skill coordination. I am asking for the help to get my life back together, along with the 30% that my insurance will not cover for either of those procedures. Since no legal counsel will help with my case nor does the SSDA believe that what I have is considered a disability. This is not me asking for a hand out, just a person that wants to be able to gain back what has been taken away: gainful employment, leaving my house without the fear of a seizure, being able to be a member of society like I once was. In no way shape or form is this an elaborate story, I have hospital records, prescription changes, wreck photos of vehicles, face and body, along with the judicial systems decision. I would like to reach my goal, anything that can be donated would truly be appreciated and paid forward in the future.

This is me truly thanking everyone from the bottom of my heart.