Portland man with epilepsy able to pursue dreams after implant [Video]

OREGON, USA — A Portland man with epilepsy is now able to pursue his dreams, thanks to an implantable device that helped bring an end to his debilitating seizures.

Bill Pippel had his first seizure in 2006.

“Prior to my 21st birthday, I woke up one morning in the hospital without a whole lot of memory of how I had gotten there,” he recalled. 

There were more after that — about three a month. 

“I had no control over when I might have a seizure,” Pippel said. “Every seizure day is really three days — at minimum — in order to try and recover from that, either because I’ve thrown my body around and hurt myself in that regard, or just trying to get cognition back.”

Pippel was diagnosed with epilepsy, a brain condition that causes recurring seizures. Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) doctors say about 1 …