Epilepsy causes uncontrollable seizures, and they can happen at any time. Now, there's a new surgery that could help patients who suffer from this condition.

For the first time in a long while, Isaac Diaz is thinking about what's next.

"I want to start my own culinary business, like a restaurant in the future," Diaz said.

After years of struggling with his health, he wasn't sure if he would ever reach this milestone.

"I had a stroke at birth and then had a seizure, and it affected like my whole left side," Diaz said. 

At thirteen months old, Diaz was put on seizure meds at the same time he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

However, by 2020, the seizures came back with a vengeance, sometimes several times in just a single day.  

"It was hard because, like, it was always like constant worrying and like always on my mind like when's the next seizure going to happen," Diaz said.

Diaz began doing his own research, which led him to Stanford Children's Health. Doctors conducted two years of testing to confirm the location.

Since the seizures were near his visual pathways, doctors decided to move forward with a craniotomy, which allowed surgeons to know what to avoid and preserve Diaz's vision.

"The goal is to remove the abnormal area of the brain that's causing the seizures, but to leave as much of the normal brain there as you safely can," Pediatric Neurosurgeon Laura Prolo said.

Diaz and his family knew the surgery worked when he reached his six-month milestone.

"We hit six months of Isaac having no seizures, and we were, over the moon," Diaz's mom, Jazmin, said.

Isaac still experiences some seizures, but nothing compared to before the surgery.

The year prior, he had 31 seizures, since then, only four. Once he reaches his sixth month seizure-free, Diaz plans to tackle his next big milestone — getting a driver's license.