Artist Syril Strickler was 47 when she had her first epileptic seizure, waking up in the hospital after neighbors found her unconscious in the street. For 10 years, seizures every few weeks brought her life to a virtual standstill — until physicians performed a surgery that gave Strickler her life back.
Strickler launched her own art studio shortly after graduating from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1980s. She painted murals at more than 100 Chicago restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, and bars, and relocated to Southern California shortly before her seizures began in 2007.
Every month or so, I would have another seizure and wake up in the hospital about four days later, Strickler said. Little by little, the business I had built up came to a halt. After a seizure caused a major car crash where, thankfully, no one was killed, I had to give up driving. My life was absolutely leveled.
Jeffrey M. Chung, MD, director of the Epilepsy Program met Strickler in 2019 when she was referred by a former Cedars-Sinai resident.
To locate the exact point in Strickler’s brain where her seizures were originating, the epilepsy team first monitored her seizure activity using EEG electrodes attached to her scalp, he said. When that didn’t yield enough information, Adam N. Mamelak, MD, director of the Functional Neurosurgery Program at Cedars-Sinai, implanted electrodes at various locations in Strickler’s brain to make more precise recordings possible.
If a patient’s epileptic seizures originate from a single point in the brain, surgeons can remove a tiny portion of tissue at that point to stop them, Mamelak said. Because Strickler’s seizures were coming from two points, neuromodulation was suggested as an alternative treatment.
Mamelak noted that advanced imaging and robotic surgery have significantly reduced the risks from these procedures, and that patients have more treatment options. Chung highlighted neuromodulation results in complete seizure control for more than 70% of patients, including Strickler, who has been seizure-free for more than a year.
I’m busy painting again and am about to graduate from Ventura Adult and Continuing Education with a certificate in print and web design, Strickler said. I just started a new job doing video painting tutorials for an L.A.-based manufacturer of plasters and decorative paints. And after 6 ½ years without a driver’s license, I am able to drive. I feel like I’ve been given an absolute miracle.
Chung urges patients who have tried more than two medications and are still having seizures to seek an evaluation at an epilepsy center. With a proper evaluation, you can learn what your options for treatment are and make a conscious choice, he said. The saddest thing is when we have options that could stop a patient’s seizures, and they’re not being evaluated for those options.
