Ashley Rodriguez waited months to get in with a neurologist and eventually a neurosurgeon. When she called Neurosurgery One for a second opinion, she was able to be seen in days.
Ashley Rodriguez had no idea she had epilepsy. She was living a busy, high-stress life.
“It was November 2022, and I was out with my friends,” she said. “I remember us getting our food, and I had a wave of anxiety come over me, which is nothing out of the ordinary. All of a sudden, one friend said, ‘I think you had an absent seizure.’ Another friend said, ‘You really scared me.’ In my head, I was like what are they talking about? ”
The following evening, Ashley had another silent seizure. The seizures became more regular, but Ashley was in nursing school and believed the episodes were related to stress so she sought therapy.
Fast forward to March 31, 2023, Ashley was leaving Target with her mother and heading to dinner before working a night shift. The next thing Ashley remembers is waking up in the emergency room.
Ashley learned she had a tonic-clonic seizure. Also referred to as grand mal seizures, a tonic-clonic seizure has two stages: a tonic stage where muscles stiffen and a clonic stage where muscles twitch and jerk.
Ashley was referred to a neurologist. After months of waiting for her appointment, she was diagnosed with epilepsy after an MRI showed a lesion on her brain. Ashley was then referred to a neurosurgeon, who discussed Ashley’s options with her, including Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) or a stay in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU), but didn’t go into detail about the options.
“I chose surgery kind of unguided in a sense,” Ashley said.
While Ashley originally had an appointment with Neurosurgery One scheduled for a second opinion, she canceled her initial appointment. However, when her insurance denied her first attempt at surgery, she called Neurosurgery One again. Ashley met with epileptologist Dr. Mesha-Gay Brown and neurosurgeon and epilepsy specialist Dr.Abhijeet Gummadavelli, and they went into great detail about her options, she said.
Neurosurgery One moved Ashley through the diagnosis and treatment process quickly.
“Dr. Gummadavelli is not your typical neurosurgeon,” she said. “ He is a gentle soul. He truly listens to you and works with you. He spends time with you to make sure you understand everything that is going to happen and to answer any and all questions not only you have but anyone who is joining you on your journey and is your support system.”
One of the steps Ashley took was being observed in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) at Littleton Adventist, where she realized how much epilepsy was impacting her life.
“As much as I didn’t want to do the procedures and tests, looking back, I understand why they were necessary and why they helped in understanding my diagnosis and plan of care,” she said.
She ultimately moved forward with LITT surgery, but not without challenges again with insurance.
“Neurosurgery One worked as a team behind the scenes and kept me updated, “ she said. “I could contact them anytime and know I would always get an answer back. They made me feel heard, and they fought for me after each denial from my insurance to finally get approval.”
In February 2024, Ashley bravely shaved her head and underwent LITT surgery.
“Dr. Gummadavelli called the day after I was discharged home from the ICU and was like, ‘You left without seeing me,’” Ashley said. “I was cleared to go and he was joking, but it blew my mind that he had the thought and true care to check in on me.”
With her anti-seizure medications and the surgery, she has been seizure-free. She is still being closely monitored by Neurosurgery One.
“If anything were to change and I were to have seizures again, I know Dr. Gummadavelli will continue to work with me and be the best advocate I could ask for,” she said.
Ashley recently turned 36. She graduated from nursing school in June 2023 and is currently working as a registered nurse (RN).
“Dr. Brown, Dr. Gummadavelli, and their staff are so supportive,” she said. “I could not ask for a better team!”
