Doctors shut off half of 6-year-old's brain to halt rare disease that caused her to suffer daily
Topics: US News, Health, Parenting, Mental Health
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Crystal Bodley / KABC
Topics: US News, Health, Parenting, Mental Health
A six-year-old girl has undergone surgery to disconnect half of her brain.
In August 2022, Brianna Bodley was admitted to hospital for five days after experiencing night time seizures. Until then, she'd been a happy, healthy young girl, who loved 'singing, dancing and reading'.
At first, the six-year-old was diagnosed with epilepsy, before doctors later identified the cause of seizures as Rasmussen encephalitis syndrome. Prepare for an astounding story:
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"Rasmussen's encephalitis (RE) is a very rare, chronic inflammatory neurological disease that usually affects only one hemisphere (half) of the brain," the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains.
The disease is characterized by 'frequent and severe seizures,' alongside 'inflammation of the brain, mental deterioration' and 'progressive loss of neurological functions including motor skills, speech, and eventual paralysis on one side of the body (hemiparesis)'.
On a Go Fund Me page, Brianna's mom Crystal Bodley writes: "The progression of the symptoms to significant neurological impairment usually occurs within weeks or months to a few years. [...] Unfortunately, either quickly or slowly, children begin to show difficulties with learning."
Treatments include anti-epileptic drugs, but they 'may not entirely control seizures' and according to the Go Fund Me page the six-year-old tried 'six different' medications as well as infusions.
"Recent studies have shown some success with treatments that suppress or modulate the immune system, in particular those that use corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, or tacrolimus," it adds.
Surgery is also an option for the disease, and a road which doctors ultimately decided to go down to help Brianna.
Last week, Brianna underwent a 10-hour surgery on her brain.
Pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron Robison at Loma Linda University Health was one of the surgeons involved in the procedure to disconnect half of the six-year-old's brain.
Brianna's mom, Crystal Bodley, told ABC7: "After surgery, her entire left side of her body is turned off."
Dr. Robison said: "The seizures and the inflammation damage on that side of the brain, it causes the brain to actually shrink.
"[...] Just disconnecting it is enough to stop the disease completely and essentially, potentially cure it."
The six-year-old has lost 'some peripheral vision' and 'some fine motor skills on her left hand' but is now undergoing physiotherapy and is, ultimately, expected to remain 'seizure free'.
As per the GoFundMe, Brianna and her family are now focusing on the six-year-old's 'pain management' and her rehabilitation.
Dr Robison resolves: "Brianna would still be exactly the same person, even after disconnecting half her brain."
The six-year-old's grandmother said: "I just want to see her back to little Brianna running around, doing her artwork and having the fun that she always had."