Epilepsy case splits medical world, child’s family

Editor’s note: Science Blog typically pulls stories straight from laboratory news sites and serves them up unadulterated. On rare occasion a story in the popular press comes along that is so well crafted it deserves special recognition. This is one of them. In Jamie’s World, journalist Susan Goldsmith tells the story of an eleven-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with what physicians say is possibly the worst case of epilepsy ever. She’s endured starvation diets, narcotic comas that have put her near death, and seemingly medieval surgical procedures. She’s watched as her case has led to bitter arguments between some of the world’s most gifted surgeons–and hastened the breakup of her parents’ marriage. Still, she and her family have persevered, pushing past personal hardship to keep fighting for a cure.