Story by: Joe Hall on May 26, 2023
It’s one thing to have a friendly face with you during your hospital stay and another to have someone who can relate to what you’re going through. For kids with epilepsy and other neurological conditions at Norton Children’s, there’s someone who’s both.
Jason Cox is a neurodiagnostic technologist at Norton Children’s Neuroscience Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. A nearly 20-year employee at Norton Healthcare, Jason performs tests and uses specialized equipment to monitor how a patient’s nervous system is functioning. This includes performing electroencephalography, which involves placing sensors on a patient’s head to monitor brain activity.
Going through these tests is something Jason knows all too well. He was diagnosed with epilepsy in the second grade and underwent some life-changing treatments and surgeries. Many of those procedures are the same ones his patients go through today.
Along with a wealth of knowledge, one of the few visible signs of Jason’s diagnosis is a scar from a craniotomy, along the right side of his hairline.
“You know what I tell people about mine? I was too smart, and they had to take my part out to make it even for everyone else,” Jason said to an 8-year-old epilepsy patient one morning.
It’s a story that resonates with these kids and their families.
“Jason’s special,” the patient’s mother said. “He’ll talk about scars and having seizures and how it makes you feel, even after surgery. He can talk to kids and knows exactly what they’re going through. You know, I’m there but I don’t really understand on that level, and he does.”
Jason said the care he received as a kid is why he chose the health care field. With some encouragement from his neurologist, he decided to pursue neurodiagnostics.
“That’s my way of giving back, trying to help others,” he said, adding he doesn’t plan to leave the job anytime soon. “I am where I want to be.”