Stories: Ali

Seventeen-year-old Ali Nowotny says that she lives her live for cheer and dance. She is bright and outgoing and energetic. At 15, Ali began suffering seizures. And she hid them from her family until and aunt witnessed one of her episodes. An MRI showed a mass on the left side of Ali's brain, a part of the brain associated with memory. She was given medication to control her seizures. But her school work was suffering. Ali's neurological team at the Mayo Clinic advised that Ali undergo surgery to remove the mass in her brain before problems with her memory worsened.