DUNDEE KZN: Stefan recounts his battle and triumph over serious medical condition
He is now taking a gap year to help make a full recovery and has put on hold, for now, his plans to study for a B.Com Degree at the University of Pretoria
Stefan Thom has recounted how he battled through a serious medical condition to write his final matric examinations that saw him finish in the top five out of all those who wrote the exams in the Umzinyathi Education District. The 18-year-old, who was last year’s Dundee High School head boy and Dux awardee, says his life changed completely midway through 2019 while in Grade 11.
“At the beginning of it all, I had very mild epileptic seizures which occurred once every two weeks in the form of me having a questionable type of sleepwalk which I had experienced before,” Stefan told the Courier. “Over time, the seizures I was experiencing became more and more concerning and started occurring a lot more frequently. I say this because, having started with only one gradual seizure every two weeks, I started experiencing two or more intense seizures every single night, which made my lifestyle completely different and uncomfortable.”
Despite this, Stefan continued working hard at his studies and his cheery nature still shone through. These re-occurring seizures led Stefan and his parents, Erich and Rita, to meet up with a neurologist in Pietermaritzburg, who then referred them to one of the best epileptologists (an epileptologist is a neurologist who specialises in the treatment of seizures and epilepsy), Dr James Butler, who works out of the Constantiaberg Mediclinic in Cape Town.
Putting his condition aside, Stefan got through his matric exams with flying colours, achieving eight A symbols. Then, once the New Year dawned, the Thom family had to steel themselves for Stefan’s next journey. “I was admitted into the hospital in Cape Town on February 4. It was in that very hospital that my life-changing journey began in the form of me being attached to an external EEG monitor (an electroencephalogram is a test that detects electrical activity in your brain, using small metal discs or electrodes that are attached to the patient’s scalp), which helped the doctors determine what was causing my re-occurring seizures.”
As these results were not evidential, Stefan says he had to undergo his first surgery, where they inserted probes into the left and right-hand side of his brain in order to show them exactly which side of his brain was causing the epilepsy. “After being attached to that for two weeks, the doctor finally had collected enough information in order to determine the origin of my seizures. I underwent my second surgery, with Dr Roger Melvill performing a left temporal lobectomy on my brain in order to eliminate the cause of my seizures. I then had to remain in the hospital for seven more days in order to recover well enough to be discharged on March 1.”
Stefan said he is thrilled to be back home, and last Friday attended the Mayoral Matric Awards Ceremony, where the top students from the ‘Class of 2020’ received medals and tablets from Mayor Mdluli.
Even better news is that Stefan has been seizure-free since the last surgery.
He is now taking a gap year to help make a full recovery and has put on hold, for now, his plans to study for a B.Com Degree at the University of Pretoria, which he was scheduled to start in January. He will use this year to his advantage and register for short courses to gain some work experience in his chosen field. He says that by the end of this year, God-willing, he will be fully recovered and rearing to study in 2022.
“Having stayed in the hospital for a total of 25 days, I realised that, through the grace of God, we are all able to undergo any kind of occurrences in our life, as long as we continually keep believing in God’s never-ending grace, love and power, as He is the Father Almighty who is willing and able to do whatever it takes in order to keep his children completely safe and healthy,” Stefan concluded. The Thom family have thanked friends, family and the local community for their continued concern, support and prayers during these trying times.
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