Mum has to choose to let son, 7, battle seizures or risk leaving him paralysed

Since he was just seven months old, Gabriel Bailey, has struggled with epilepsy and had to deal with up to 70 seizures a day.

Unable to do anything alone, doctors told his mum Stephanie Bailey the only cure was an operation to remove part of his brain – which could leave him permanently paralysed.

Stephanie, 32, from Oxford, gave the go-ahead for the operation and, although he woke up afterwards unable to move the left side of his body, Gabriel, seven. is recovering well.

He has only had 10 seizures since the procedure four months ago and he is slowly regaining the ability to move enough to practice for a dance competition.

Stephanie said: ‘If we didn’t have the surgery, the doctors said he wouldn’t be able to do much as he gets older – he’d be in a vegetative state by the time he was a teenager.

‘By some miracle, my brave little boy is back on his feet already, running and dancing.’

Doctors initially feared Gabriel had a brain tumour but later diagnosed him late last year with a cortical dysplasia – one of epilepsy’s most common causes – where the brain’s top layer doesn’t form properly.

Removing the underdeveloped part of his brain would give him a 50 per cent chance of being seizure free, but carried the risk of left side paralysis.

After agonising over what to do, Stephanie gave the go-ahead for resection surgery to be carried out in June.

When Gabriel woke up unable to move the left side of his body doctors were unable to tell if the paralysis would be permanent.

Stephanie was scared she’d made the wrong decision, but her brave son had a different outlook.

She added: ‘Gabriel was so happy that he wasn’t having seizures.

‘At the end of each day, he’d say “They must have taken all the seizures because I haven’t had any today!”

‘He wasn’t really upset that he couldn’t move his left side because his physio doctor came round everyday and gave such positive encouragement that Gabriel felt completely confident and looked forward to her daily visits.’

Five days after surgery, Gabriel started to get significant movement back on his left side and he was able to take his first steps just two and a half weeks later.

Having joined a dance school when he was just four, the chances of him carrying on with his passion in the future looks hopeful.

He’s even preparing to fly to Germany for a dance competition as he becomes more active than ever.

Stephanie admitted she is still cautious but is delighted at Gabriel’s progress.

She added: ‘Gabriel is my whole entire world and so much more and the thought that I could have lost him to epilepsy makes me sick but at the moment I’m euphoric that we’ve come this far.’