AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A local 4-year-old boy is seizure-free after receiving care at the Children's Hospital of Georgia.
A place his parents are very familiar with after his dad Matthew Smith had heart surgery there years ago.
We spoke with Smith, who says his son Turner is doing a lot better, thanks to this hospital.
"He's truly nothing but a boy who loves to be outside, loves to chase his cousins, chase the dogs around the yard and do all the things that little four-year-old boys are supposed to do," said Smith.
Turner is a happy little boy who has spent his whole life at the Children's Hospital of Georgia.
His mom was induced a couple of weeks early because of no fetal movement.
"Turner was quickly rushed to the neonatal unit here because he wasn't breathing very well on his own," said Smith. "About 48 hours in the NICU he was rushed back to mom, so really his journey at the Children's Hospital started on day one."
Matthew says after he turned one, that's when they noticed Turner's head dropping and quickly sent videos to the pediatrician. Turner was diagnosed with epilepsy. Matthew says counting the number of seizures Turner had is impossible.
"It was just his head dropping. At the peak, he was having five to six episodes a day and those episodes would be anywhere from 20 to 60 head drops per episode," said Smith.
Over the years, Turner has had a lot of procedures and scans done.
He recently had brain surgery in August at the Children's Hospital to remove scar tissue that was causing the seizures.
"His speech has improved. His abilities improved, eating more food, all these things he was not doing before surgery," said Smith. "He's seizure-free for the last four months or so. Fingers crossed that we make it to February because that would be the 6-month mark."
And Smith is no stranger to the Children's Hospital. At 11 years old--he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. In cases like Matthew's, the Children's Hospital will continue treating children through adulthood.
At 27, Smith had heart surgery.
"It was really funny because when we walked into the operating room everyone was like where is your kid and I'm like I am the kid at 27 years old," said Smith. "My journey started here, my son's journey is still here and we could not have imagined a better place and for this place being right in our back door."
Turner still receives physical and occupational therapy at the Children's Hospital.
Next month will mark 6 months seizure-free.
The hospital is a not-for-profit so they rely on donations and support from the community.
If you would like to help families like Turner's you can visit the hospital's website here.