'It means more freedom for Mikey': Our experience with cutting-edge surgery to treat epilepsy

Mikey Fallon’s epileptic seizures intensified at puberty. A high-stakes operation aided by a robot system was his only hope

Mikey Fallon, 15, with his mother Maria, sister Orlagh, and father David at their home in Stepaside, Co Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney

When Dubliner Mikey Fallon, 15, hit puberty a year ago, the epileptic seizures he had been having every two to three months became more frequent. He began having them every other week.

“I cry a lot when I talk about this,” says his mum, Maria, recalling when she first saw the harrowing deterioration in his condition.