Oliver with parents(Mark and Kimberley), Wirginia Maixner and Simon Harvey
at the 500th epilepsy surgery celebrations.
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Oliver Terrell is 6 years old, and introduces himself saying "I've been on Catalyst", as if it's quite common for a 6 year old to have had their brain surgery filmed for a science show.
Ollie's story began with a stroke at birth and a diagnosis of cerebral palsy (hemiplegia affecting his right hand side). He had seizures at birth but didn't develop epilepsy till aged 3 at which point his behaviour and concentration deteriorated. His family struggled to find someone who could correctly diagnose and effectively treat him until travelling to Melbourne to meet neurologist Simon Harvey at the Royal Children's hospital. Being treated in Melbourne by Simon Harvey and neurosurgeon Wirginia Maixner was life changing. Wirginia Maixner cut the scar tissue from Ollie's stroke out of his brain to remove the cause of his epilepsy, using trachtography to pin-point important functions such as movement and vision to preserve as much function as possible.
