Imagine not being able to plan a day at work or even a bike ride. That's a reality for people with uncontrolled epileptic seizures. Now, after decades of treatment, a local woman has found success through surgery. 48-year-old Denise LeCaptain of Kewaunee helps out her dad on the farm. "I'm the gopher guy, I cut hay for him, feed his animals," she says. And she finds time to squeeze in hobbies. "I like doing my latch hook and going for bike rides sometimes," says Denise. But for decades, her epileptic seizures got in the way. Denise says she got them early, "I had 'em when I was back in first grade, the teacher I had in first grade knew I had seizures, she knew what to do, so when I had 'em in school, my head would go down to the desk, I would lay there for a couple of minutes and then I would come back to, and in all my years through school I had 'em." Those seizures continued into adulthood. And like many patients, medications were not working for Denise. "We have large number of studies, good scientific evidence that one in three people will not achieve seizure freedom without significant side effects from medications. And seizure freedom is essential. When seizures continue, people are at risk for physical injury, they're at risk for death, they're at risk for a steady downward decline in their ability to function because their brain is being changed by the seizures," says George Morris, MD, Epileptologist at Aurora BayCare Medical Center. So Denise and her family made the decision to have surgery last year to remove the part of her brain causing the seizures. "Since 2009 January, I've had no seizures," she says. "The vast improvement in the quality of life in these patients afterwards ripples through to their family, to their community, they become wonderfully productive individuals. They can go back to work and work effectively. Denise is now planning several 'firsts.' "Going for my driver's license, going for a job," she says. And she's proud to talk about it, "In a good mood today, (laughs)." Dr. Morris is putting on a presentation called 'Epilepsy - Understanding Seizures and Treatment Options.' It's Thursday, July 15th from 6pm-7pm at the Black Forest Restaurant on Velp Avenue in Green Bay. For more information, call 1.866.938.0035, or check this link to register online http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/events/_hidden/search.asp?ID=7585