Gratitude Stories - Lauren
For years, Lauren Riccio, a 37-year-old mom, suffered seizures while she slept—as many as 15 to 20 a night. But despite repeated efforts, medical providers from various facilities failed to pinpoint the cause of her seizures or find a way to stop them.
“I was told maybe I had PTSD from a trauma I had experienced or depression or anxiety or sleep apnea or some other mental health issues,” Lauren recounts. “I saw psychiatrists, spent a week in a mental health facility, was prescribed countless meds...nothing helped.”
In fact, things went from bad to worse.
On August 2, 2023, Lauren’s husband Mike noticed she was having difficulty breathing and her nocturnal seizures were more frequent and violent than he’d ever seen. So, he called 911 and Lauren was rushed to a local hospital where she remained for a week undergoing extensive testing, monitoring, and stabilization measures.
When it was determined that hospital couldn’t help Lauren further, she was transferred to Rhode Island Hospital, where things would improve dramatically.
Thanujaa Subramaniam, MD, Neurocritical Care Director of Quality and Safety at Rhode Island Hospital, led Lauren’s multidisciplinary care team. “Lauren’s seizures were so severe and frequent she had to be placed in a medically induced coma to abruptly stop the episodes,” Dr. Subramaniam explains. “The seizures were very damaging to her brain and her muscles, which showed signs of significant injury during her seizure episodes.”
Lauren was formally diagnosed with epilepsy—something consistently ruled out by all her prior testing—and Dr. Subramaniam sought and found the appropriate combination of anti-seizure medications that worked for her and put a halt to her awful seizures once and for all.
“Doctor S was phenomenal!” exclaims Mike, speaking for his wife who has no recollection of her 12-day hospital stay. “We saw numerous neurologists over numerous years, and they were all baffled by Lauren’s unusual and complicated case. But Dr. S solved the mystery and we’re so grateful.”
Today, Lauren remains on the road to recovery and is making steady progress toward regaining full mobility, strength, and energy. “I’m just happy to be alive, and getting a little better all the time,” she says, “and I credit my Rhode Island Hospital care team for that. They treated me like solid gold.”