When Landon had his first seizure at 3 years old, his dad immediately brought him to Children’s Minnesota for treatment. Landon’s seizures worsened throughout the years, eventually becoming so severe he would have up to three per day. Now at age 11, Landon is seizure-free after undergoing a life-changing surgery.
Discovering cortical dysplasia
In September 2017, when Landon was 3 years old, he walked on his tiptoes and struggled with some of his words. He was put into serial casting to help with his joint mobility and started speech therapy. His seizures began just weeks later.
Landon’s dad, Dan, brought him to Children’s Minnesota for evaluation immediately after his first seizure. An MRI revealed he had cortical dysplasia, a condition caused by a group of abnormally formed cells in the brain. It’s one of the most common causes of focal epilepsy and the reason his speech was impacted.
Doctors at Noran Neurology, where Landon was referred, started him on medications to reduce his seizures. At the same time, Dan tried to keep his son’s life as normal as possible to let him continue being a kid. Landon’s biggest passion is sports, which he chose to continue to participate in, despite epilepsy’s interruptions.
“He’d have a seizure on ice. He’d have a seizure in the batter’s box. And then he just gets back up and powers through it. He completely amazed everybody,” Dan said. “All the parents, coaches, everybody was just astonished by his strength.”
Landon’s care team would check in with him often, usually requiring an increased dose of his medications. Unfortunately, the medication he was on was eventually deemed to be a short-term fix and his epilepsy needed to be addressed further.
Surgical intervention
Children’s Minnesota partners with the Minnesota Epilepsy Group (MEG) to provide a level 4 pediatric Epilepsy Center. After Landon’s doctors at Children’s Minnesota discussed his case with MEG, Landon began to see MEG specialists, like Heidi Currier, MD, pediatric epileptologist. They began to evaluate if Landon was a candidate for surgical intervention.
“Seizure management is highly complex. MEG offers outstanding epileptologists, advanced practice clinicians, neuropsychologists, and more,” said Meysam Kebriaei, MD, medical director of the neurosurgery program at Children’s Minnesota. “We work hand in hand to ensure the best seizure management options are available to our patients.”
Landon underwent multiple tests at MEG, including the Wada test, which evaluates what role each side of the brain has in language and memory functions. The Wada test was administered by Dr. Torok, a pediatric neurointerventional radiologist. Eventually, he was approved and underwent epilepsy surgery on December 20, 2024, with Dr. Kebriaei at Children’s Minnesota.
The surgery aimed to remove cortical dysplasia in Landon’s left frontal lobe. His surgery was done in the state-of-the-art iMRI suite at Children’s Minnesota to confirm that all of the cortical dysplasia tissue was removed during surgery.
“We were able to remove 100% of the tissue, greatly reducing the risk for further seizures,” Dr. Kebriaei said. “Landon has been seizure-free since surgery, and hopefully we can keep it that way. It’s great to see him doing well after many years of seizures.”
Thankful for support
Dan explained that Landon’s health journey has been tough on their whole family, but he’s grateful that they have an amazing support system both in and out of the hospital.
“We have such a great family and support system. Everybody’s been great,” Dan said. “Landon’s mom, his grandparents, stepmom, stepbrother and sister have been there for him all throughout this journey.”
Dan also thanks the nurses on the eighth floor of Children’s Minnesota, who he calls his “Eighth floor crew,” composed of the Minnesota Epilepsy Group team in the surgical epilepsy unit.
“That whole floor, everything they do is just amazing. They gave him the best care,” Dan said. “And Dr. Kebriaei, it’s amazing what he does. He’s at the top of my Christmas list.”
Dan is also thankful for Landon’s coaches and teachers for their understanding and support during the height of Landon’s epilepsy.
Looking ahead
Now, eight years after his first seizure, Landon hasn’t had a seizure since December 20, 2024, thanks to his surgery. His speech has improved greatly, and he continues to follow-up in the neurosurgery clinic at Children’s Minnesota and will eventually transition to follow-ups as needed. He also continues to receive care from Dr. Currier’s team at MEG for ongoing monitoring for seizures.
Landon, now 11 years old, is excited to already be back in sports, and is already back on the ice. He is especially looking forward to playing baseball and throwing a football around.
Although Dan is looking forward to seeing his son get back to being a kid, he’s just grateful for Landon’s health and resilience.
“Watching [Landon] persevere is amazing. His grace and lack of fear is astounding,” Dan said. “He’s amazing.”
