Personal Stories of Hope Volume 1 | Page 6

aiden w . Aiden was born in February 2004 with a large birthmark on his face and scalp. The doctors called it a port wine stain and warned that Aiden might have glaucoma as the birthmark was also in his right eye. When he was just 2 months old he had his first eye surgery. At three months Aiden had his first seizure and soon after was diagnosed with a rare neurological brain disorder called Sturge-Weber syndrome. When multiple anti-seizure medications failed to control his seizures, his doctors recommended a brain surgery called hemispherectomy. On August 21, 2008 Aiden, just 4 years old, underwent 11 hours of surgery to remove the right half of his brain. Aiden has been seizure free since that operation. He has learned to: walk independently