12-year-old epilepsy patient celebrated post life-saving brain surgery

DETROIT (FOX 2) - After two years of life-threatening seizures, 12-year-old Justin Swett underwent brain surgery that saved his life.

Justin is now able to live his life with more independence. 

"It was super scary for us as parents to have a brain surgery, and then to come out of it and have the support that we’ve had, and see him bounce back so quick," said Aaron Swett, Justin’s dad. "It’s just really mind-blowing."

His family say he's always been the life of the party. Children's Hospital of Michigan celebrated Justin as he walked out of the hospital after a stay that lasted 32 nights.

Justin's seizures began about two years ago, his family said. Over time, his epilepsy episodes worsened to the point where he couldn’t stand up. 

"We’ve waited for this for so long, and now our family can be back together," said Krissy Swett, Justin's mother. "To watch my son just be able to walk without a gate belt, and worrying about him having a seizure and hitting his face… the freedom that we have is just overwhelming."

Justin Swett (Provided by the Swett family)

Dr. Michael Cools is the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Michigan. He, along with a team of specialists, performed the life-altering brain surgery.

"It’s amazing to see how well he’s done and how much this means to the family – how their quality of life and Justin’s quality of life have significantly improved," Cools said. "What we did in surgery was, we actually divided the part of the brain that connects the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere to prevent the rapid spread of those seizures from one side of the brain to the other."