Kace's Story

Kace Lightsey
Age 13
Children’s Hospital of Alabama
Brain Injury & Epilepsy

For two years and up to 40 times a day, an electrical storm would erupt in the brain of 7-year-old Kace Lightsey. Severe epilepsy—triggered by a brain injury and stroke suffered when he was five—was robbing Kace of his childhood. The lively, happy little boy from Woodstock, Ala., couldn’t be left alone for even a moment because a debilitating seizure could strike, leaving him powerless.

Hope for a childhood free of seizures came from Children’s Hospital of Alabama. A neurologist there believed that Kace was a candidate for epilepsy surgery. “I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to get better. I’m going to get better,’” said Kace. “So when I heard about the surgery, I said, ‘I’m ready if it is going to help get me back where I can play with my friends.’” Kace was ready for his childhood back.

The delicate surgery removed almost the entire right side of Kace’s brain and proved remarkably successful. He came out of surgery sitting upright and asking for a chocolate milkshake—a typical 7-year-old had returned. Today 13-year-old Kace is seizure free and is enjoying every moment of his teenage years.