09/03/2026
"If your life were a museum exhibit, what would be the centerpiece?" 🖼️🧠 For Ben, it's his brain - illustrated like a colorful neuroscience textbook, but with jigsaw puzzle pieces missing from the part removed during his 2012 epilepsy surgery.
In this powerful episode of That One Professional, Ben opens up about living with epilepsy since childhood: a terrifying 3-hour status epilepticus at age 6, years of medication trials, subtle partial seizures mistaken for graduate school fatigue, and the cumulative "collateral damage" of falls and fractures. He encountered four distinct neurologist approaches, mirroring the classic four models of the physician-patient relationship (Emanuel & Emanuel, JAMA 1992).
The epileptologist who stood out was: frank, clear in lay terms, respectful of Ben's life stage, and emphatic that the decision was fully Ben's: "The lesion isn't going anywhere; we can wait if you need to finish your degree."
That space for autonomy, honest stats (e.g., ~80-90% chance of major seizure reduction), and prioritization when things worsened gave Ben the confidence to proceed. Post-surgery? Only three seizures in 13+ years (all stress-related), including six straight years seizure-free now - plus a completed PhD, relearned Russian, and a career pivot into medical research.
Ben's story is a reminder for all of us in healthcare and education: patients aren't just cases - they're people with priorities, fears, and futures. Professionals should inform, interpret, deliberate together, and empower. Huge thanks to Ben for his candor and courage.
Give it a listen and reflect: Which model best describes your practice? How can we better support patient autonomy in tough decisions? Please feel free to use this podcast in educational environments.
🎧 Listen, reflect, or use this episode in education.
👉 Link here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ILznnPL5Vdr4D1offibXB?si=yit3IoUvRhiN4ZChFAwQcA
