CORTLAND, Ohio - Giovanni Vitello was born healthy in July 2023. For the first six months of his life, he was hitting milestones and developing normally. But just after his half-birthday, his parents noticed unusual eye movements. Days later, an EEG confirmed a devastating diagnosis: infantile spasms, a form of catastrophic seizures that can cause children to stop developing and even regress.

“It was hard, hard to picture him going through that,” his mother, Amanda Vitello, said. “Two days later, he had an EEG that did confirm he had infantile spasms, which are essentially catastrophic seizures for these little kids.”

Further genetic testing revealed Giovanni had tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a rare disorder that causes noncancerous tumors to grow in the brain and other organs. For Giovanni, it meant seizures that sometimes reached more than 20 a day. His parents described life as a constant cycle of medication changes and counting seizures, while watching milestones slip away.

“There came a point where it was just too much of a dose for him,” Amanda said. “We trialed a couple of other medications as well, and once you hit multiple of those medications, the likelihood of them working to control the seizures isn’t very good.”

Through a Facebook support group of parents navigating TSC, Amanda connected with another Ohio mother whose daughter had undergone surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Encouraged by her advice, the Vitellos made the trip south in hopes of giving Giovanni a chance at a better future.

In December 2024, Giovanni underwent two brain surgeries. First, doctors implanted 39 electrodes to map his seizures and identify the source. Then, neurosurgeon Dr. Daniel Curry performed a laser ablation to target a single lesion in his brain.

“Giovanni had a very high burden of seizures,” said Curry, professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine and director of the functional neurosurgery program at Texas Children’s. “What’s remarkable about Giovanni is he was cured so far. He has not had any seizures, which is an unusual situation for his diagnosis and his age.”

The Vitellos call Dec. 6, the day of Giovanni’s surgery, “another birthday” — the day their son’s seizures stopped. They returned home to Cortland just before Christmas, calling it the best holiday gift they could have imagined.

Since then, Giovanni has been in therapy several times a week. He had to relearn how to use the right side of his body, but now he is scooting, working on standing, and slowly catching up on milestones. His parents say they are seeing his silly, bright personality return.

“I look at him, and I draw a lot of strength from him,” Amanda said. “If he can go through that and come out — he’s amazing. Then I can go into any situation and do anything.”

Doctors have begun tapering Giovanni’s medications, and follow-up EEGs have been normal. While the family knows seizures could return in the future, they remain hopeful as he continues to progress.

“This is highly specialized care,” Curry said. “It’s throwing a switch in the brain, getting rid of the uncontrolled electrical behavior, and letting that child’s brain return to normal growth.”

For the Vitellos, that means finally getting to enjoy everyday moments with their son.