EDMOND — Crista Shuman has all the faith in the world that she will learn to walk again for the second time. Her life is not one for others to pity her losses caused by chronic seizure disorder. Shuman’s life moves by transcending barriers and a deepening appreciation for each moment.
“There’s a lot of things that make every single day worth living,” said Shuman, 21.
In January, she was a freshman at Wayne State College in Nebraska when chronic seizure disorder interrupted her college life. She was diagnosed with chronic seizure disorder five years after her first seizure appeared at age 12. What causes her seizures remains a mystery.
Now, the Colorado native lives in Edmond with her parents, Ron and Rhonda Shuman, and younger brother, Brett, 18.
Chronic seizure disorder is a lifelong form of epilepsy causing abnormal electrical discharges from the brain causing periodic shock and tremors.
In February, her seizures went from lasting 5 minutes to 10 minutes and then wouldn’t stop without intervention.
“You go into the hospital and they give you Ativan and medication. They put you almost in a coma to stop them,” Shuman said. “So we knew there was a problem and finally the neurologist said, ‘You’re going to die if we don’t crack your head open.’”
In June, a craniotomy procedure enabled her to fit a grid of electrodes all over the surface of the brain for three days of monitoring its activity, she said.
What was found was a “fireworks show” where seizures were widespread, she explained.
Three days later, Shuman had a 14-hour multiple subpial transection in which certain nerve fibers were clipped to halt the electrical transmission of seizures.
But the surgery left her with some paralysis on the left side of her body and slight difficulty with speech.
She subsequently had a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implanted on her brain to help regulate it.
The surgeries were performed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
She’s not sure how much the VNS helped her because finding the answer would mean turning it off. But her seizures continue.
Shuman regained 80 percent of her movement after rehabilitation at the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
On Aug. 31, she suffered a severe seizure while an outpatient at Jim Thorpe.
The next night, she was medically induced into a coma, she said.
Seven days later she woke up and her side had complete paralysis.
Shuman has had everything medicine presently has to offer to combat the
disorder.
It is unusual for a patient not to respond to medical treatment and intervention, said Dr. Brent Tipton, who is Shuman’s physiatrist with the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Hospital at Integris Southwest Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
“Hopefully her weakness will get better in outpatient therapy,” Tipton said.
He said during Shuman’s inpatient stay at Jim Thorpe, she demonstrated concern for the welfare of other patients in spite of her own health problems.
Despite paralysis, she went out of her way to inspire people, many of whom are stroke patients. She would paint door signs and make other patients laugh, Tipton said.
“There’s a lot of wonderful people there,” Shuman said. “I learned that a lot of people — although maybe they can’t express themselves through words always and through clear sentences, they have life stories to tell, and they have amazing things to share.
“... People are working so hard to walk and talk. It’s amazing, life changing and heart changing.”
Now, she goes five days a week for outpatient therapy. She’s able to leave her wheelchair and walk with assistance while using a quad cane. Her memory and speech have improved.
“I have a day like today when I can think clearly and know what’s going on around me,” she said.
“And I had my doctor tell me yesterday, ‘Man, Crista. You look 100 percent better than you did when I saw you right before your surgery.’”
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Transcending barriers
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