They drilled holes in Wolfgang Peters' head. Eighty tiny electrodes are buried in his brain. Each of these is hooked up to machines and monitored by a video camera. For days, Wolfgang Peters has been lying in bed, waiting for another seizure, although he came to the special epilepsy department at University Hospital in Bonn to be cured once and for all of his fits.
Wolfgang Peters has suffered from epilepsy for 30 years. Three or four times a day, he suddenly smashes his fist onto the table as his whole upper body convulses in spasms for minutes at a time. During these seizures he mutters strings of disconnected words and is completely unaware of the world around him. "I am now 43. At some point, especially at my age, you say that's enough, you can't stand it any more," he says.
Wolfgang Peters went to countless doctors and hospitals, but no one was ever able to help. Then he heard about the successes of the Bonn clinic team. He had to wait two years for an opening and finally underwent a marathon of tests in which the doctors looked for the spot in the brain that triggered the seizures. When the area is localized it is sometimes possible to remove that portion of the brain. An operation on his brain - that is Wolfgang Peters' last hope.
We spent six weeks in the hospital. Based on the experiences of three patients, this report provides unusual insights into the disease epilepsy and documents the exacting work of the doctors. Interviews and intensive observation before, during and after the operation reveal the pressure, tension and hope of the patients, physicians and researchers involved.
They drilled holes in Wolfgang Peters' head. Eighty tiny electrodes are buried in his brain. Each of these is hooked up to machines and monitored by a video camera. For days, Wolfgang Peters has been lying in bed, waiting for another seizure, although he came to the special epilepsy department at University Hospital in Bonn to be cured once and for all of his fits.
 |