All Americans will swallow hard and reflect next week on the first anniversary
of Sept. 11. However, for a British family staying at the Lied Transplant
Center, Sept. 11 will have an extra special meaning.
Its quite symbolic, said Nigel Kendall, father of Katherine Kendall,
an 18-year-old girl who is in Omaha to undergo a rare brain surgery procedure
at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to relieve her ongoing epileptic
seizures. Katherines surgery will be finished on Sept. 11.
The Kendalls are hoping that Sept. 11 will mark the beginning of a better
life for their family. For the past 13 years, the Kendalls have watched
Katherines health deteriorate, as her epilepsy caused severe neurological
and developmental problems. Prior to the onset of epilepsy, Katherine had
survived acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was one.
For six years, I have been researching epilepsy, said Anna Kendall,
Katherines mother. I would get up at 4 a.m. and research for about four
hours, then at the end of the day, I would put in another four hours. We
have 2,000 medical papers on epilepsy in our house.
The result of all this research led them to Omaha and Arun-Angelo Patil,
M.D., UNMC/Nebraska Health System neurosurgeon Charles Polkey, M.D.,
a leading British neurosurgeon at Kings College in London, told the Kendalls
about Dr. Patil.
He told us that theres only one surgeon in the world that can help
Katherine, and hes in the United States in Omaha, Nebraska, said Nigel
Kendall at a news conference held Monday afternoon in the Lied Transplant
Center.
Getting to Omaha posed a whole new challenge for the Kendalls. They
needed to raise more than $200,000, so they turned to the public for help.
Through a variety of fund-raising events and by mortgaging the home of
Katherines grandmother, they were able to reach their goal.
The procedure Dr. Patil will perform on Katherine is called a multiple
subpial transection (MST). It involves disconnecting specific circuits
in the brain that create the seizures.
It is a difficult procedure, which actually involves three separate
surgeries. On Wednesday, Dr. Patil will place a grid on the areas of the
brain on which he will be operating. He will then perform subsequent surgeries
on Sept. 6 and Sept. 11, disconnecting the faulty brain circuits on each
side of Katherines brain.
Dr. Patil is one of the only neurosurgeons in the world who performs
the procedure on both sides of the brain. Each procedure can take up to
12 hours.
He (Dr. Patil) deserves a lot of credit because he persevered with
this procedure that gives families hope, said Vik Prabhu, M.D., a UNMC
neurosurgeon who spoke at a news conference yesterday. Its a brilliant
surgery. It takes a lot of intelligent thinking.
For the Kendalls, every day is a challenge with Katherine, who has about
six falls daily due to the seizures. She wears a protective headgear at
all times to reduce her risk of serious injury.
(In her present state) Katherine has no dignity, Nigel Kendall said.
Shes incontinent and cant go to the bathroom by herself. Yet, any bathroom
is a dangerous area (because she can fall). Twenty percent of people with
Katherines epilepsy die due to falls.
Last week, Nigel Kendall injured his back while trying to contain Katherine
during a serious seizure. Anna Kendall said, Were all in danger. She
throws me down the stairs a couple times a week (when she tries to contain
Katherine during her seizures).
Even if successful, the surgery cannot reverse the neurological and
developmental damage that Katherine has sustained. Rather, the best the
Kendalls can hope for is an end to the constant seizures and the risk of
a serious fall.
Every now and then, when shes laughing and smiling, we get a glimpse
(of the potential Katherine has), said Oliver Kendall, Katherines 22-year-old
brother. Thats what we want to get her back to.
For more information on the Kendall family, go to their Web site at
www.katherineappeal.com.