Mr Drahoslav Sokol 2023-10-03 Person 5 5 0

Mr Sokol along with his colleagues at the Scottish Paediatric Epilepsy Surgery Service based at Sick Kids in Edinburgh saw my then 14 year old son who had been diagnosed with intractable epilepsy on his 3rd birthday. Having been through a range of medication, none of which fully prevented his seizures from happening, my son was then offered a chance to join a pathway to potential surgery following an updated MRI scan. This pathway took us on a journey through several hospitals in Central Scotland for a few different brain scans (with a few cancellations due to COVID restrictions etc) and eventually to SEEG and then resection last year. Our son is now 17 years old, and is working towards catching up with the education he missed out on when his epilepsy was interfering so much with his learning and confidence. He is now at college full time with a view to applying to university and has been seizure free for over a year. Anyone with a child with a medical condition will understand the anxiety and stress it causes, but I have to say the SPESS team were fabulous. Mr Sokol planned out his resection surgery meticulously with his colleagues and only four days after his operation my son was discharged home to start his recovery. We simply cannot thank Mr Sokol enough, not only for being an exceptional neurosurgeon, but for his honesty and frankness and for treating our son as an individual with his own hopes, fears and concerns for his future. We will quite simply never find the words to express our gratitude to Mr Sokol and other members of the team.