Many young adults moving out of their parents’ house for the first time anticipate big adventures ahead: Moving to a new town or state. Late-night parties. Traveling.
When Casey Schorr moved out of his Spokane, Washington childhood home last year at 19, he was looking forward to something a bit more mundane but no less novel, for him — being alone.
From the time he was 15 and had his first grand mal seizure, Casey had to be watched by family or trusted friends every waking moment. His epilepsy, unchecked by any medication he’d tried, was too dangerous for him to be by himself. A seizure could fell him in an instant, and they were coming as often as once a week. His worst one was almost 7 minutes long.
His disease put him in a holding pattern, said Casey, who’s now 20 and living in Lewiston, Idaho. He couldn’t move forward, like he saw his high school friends doing. He couldn’t drive. He lost his after-school job. Moving away from home for college or work seemed like a pipe dream.
“His life was just so limited,” said Casey’s mother, Melani Schorr. “It was like walking on eggshells all the time, being so afraid. He couldn’t live like that forever.”
The prospect of major brain surgery would give most people serious pause. For Casey, the choice was a no-brainer, he said, pardon the pun. He knew the surgery, which would be performed by an epilepsy specialist at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, was his only option. It wasn’t guaranteed to stop the seizures, but nothing else had worked.
