Top child neurologist on special mission with LRH for youngsters with epilepsy
When Dr. Sandy Para Waran began his career, his field of practice-child neurology- was a fairly new one in Sri Lanka and around the world. Now it has evolved into a practice that is both multifaceted and significant to a child’s development. “It’s amazing how quickly things can change,” he says. Meeting the Sunday Times over a visit he made to Sri Lanka from the United States, where he lives, he talked of the very special cause- ‘Project Joy’, which seeks to raise awareness and funds for the treatment of children’s epilepsy in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Sandy Para Waran
The Paediatric Neurologist grew up in Sri Lanka, qualifying to study medicine at the University of Colombo. He graduated in 1968, and in the US specialized as a Paediatric Neurologist certified by the American Board of Paediatrics and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, with special competence in child neurology. He earned certification by the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology after completing a year of fellowship in clinic electroencephalography, adding to his expertise in the identification and treatment of children with epilepsy.
In New Jersey, where he resides, Dr. Waran is recognised as a leading expert in childhood seizure disorders and EEGs, listed in theGuide to America’s Top Physicians by the Consumers Research Council of America. He was recognised by New Jersey Monthly magazine as 2009-2010 ‘Top Doctor’ for Paediatric Neurology. In March 2010 he was awarded the St. Clare’s Health System’s Physicians Award for his humanitarian efforts both in New Jersey, where he ran a free children’s Paediatric clinic at St. Clare’s Hospital, and in Asia where he volunteers and raises funds for programmes to improve health care for children.
Dr. Waran serves as the Director of the Paediatric Neuroscience Network at Goryeb Children’s Hospital and also operates a private Paediatric Neurology practice. Previously, he served as the Medical Director of the Children’s Neurology and Epilepsy Center at St. Clare’s Hospital, Denville. In 1978, he was responsible for the establishment of a regional Paediatric Neurology programme at Morristown Memorial and Overlook Hospitals, where he served as the Chairman of the section of Paediatric Neurology in the Department of Neuroscience and where he also introduced long-term video EEG monitoring. Dr. Waran also served on the clinical faculty of Columbia Presbyterian University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ). His contributions to pharmacological research have advanced the treatment of movement disorders and epilepsy in children.
All this makes him more than qualified to spearhead Project Joy, inspired by a visit to Myanmar a few years back. “We were meant to be helping a hospital there and that got me thinking-I could do the same for Sri Lanka, where I grew up.” Opportunity only came knocking at the door in 2012, however, when Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya was in the US as an Eisenhower Fellow. “I got a call from the fellowship saying that someone from Sri Lanka and from my field was in the States,” he remembers. “Then he came to Goryeb, where I was, and we had a discussion about the situation in Sri Lanka and he said that he would love to do what I was doing over there.”
Local partners are massively important in a project such as this, he notes. It was sometime later, when he was passing through Sri Lanka and introduced to the Rotary Club of Colombo West that he found another strong local partner to help with the fundraising aspect. Encouraged, Dr. Waran went back to his hometown and contacted the Rotary there. Led by Merle Johnson- “she’s like dynamite,” he laughs – they were instrumental in spearheading the North American leg of the fundraising effort. A fund, the Morristown Rotary Endowment, was created for the project called ‘Children’s Epilepsy in Sri Lanka’.
The cause, after all, is a very special one. It is estimated that epilepsy affects 1% of the world’s population. The World Health Organisation estimates that about 75% of people with epilepsy can lead normal lives if properly treated.
“Epilepsy is primarily a disease of the young,” says Dr. Waran. “Most children will get it when they start kindergarten up to about sixth year. The good news is, that in the US at least, most children with epilepsy are on medication for only a couple of years or so and monitored carefully after that.”
For the monitoring and assessment of the condition, hospitals need advanced equipment, knowledge and treatment. The Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) in Sri Lanka has a dedicated team of doctors working in the field but they lack a comprehensive paediatric neuroscience facility, says Dr. Waran. The proposed Children’s Epilepsy Unit at LRH will be a collaborative effort between professionals in the US and Sri Lanka, which will happen via short term exchanges which have already begun with assistance from the International Children’s Neurology Association.
“It’s good to have doctors who are open to collaborate,” says Dr. Waran. “When I go to LRH I meet young doctors who are open to new processes and technology, which makes our task that much easier.” The LRH Paediatric Neuroscience Unit will be headed by Dr. Padeniya and Dr. Pyara Ratnayake. Providing logistical and administrative support to the project will be Dr. Linton Padmasiri, Director of the LRH and Dr. Palitha Mahipala, Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka.
Phase One of the project will see the Paediatric Neuroscience Unit furnished with three epilepsy monitoring units, with technologists and nurses trained to handle the equipment in carrying out their duties. Phase Two seeks to ensure the successful running of an independent Paediatric Neurology Unit fully staffed with medical staff and nurses provided by LRH. Three additional machines (two for paediatric ICU care and one for neonatal ICU) will also be provided. Phase Three seeks to facilitate local doctors to travel to the US for a three month training period to train in various aspects of Paediatric Neurology and epilepsy and also to establish surgical equipment at LRH capable of providing surgical treatment for patients with brain tumours, congenital lesions and epilepsy. Phase Four will establish a programme for children with developmental disorders, considered a high risk for epilepsy.
The project is phased out until December 2017 at present; it’s a long road ahead but Dr. Waran is optimistic, thanks to ‘fantastic partners’ and a receptive network at the LRH. “It seems that the attitude towards epilepsy is changing here,” he notes. “I think it’s very important that people realise that early detection and treatment is absolutely vital in preventing further seizures in children-parents, especially must be vigilant and educated about the condition. We’re hoping that by using new methodology and tools the message will filter through to the patients.” Moreover, children must be treated by doctors sub-specializing in the field, he stresses. “Children are children, not half adults. Therefore they must be treated by doctors who specialise in paediatric neurology. It’s as simple as that.” The proposed unit at LRH will do just that, he hopes.
For more information, visit http://childrensepilepsysrilanka.org/ or email Rotarian Nihal Bogahalande at larc@sltnet.lk for information on how you can donate in Sri Lanka.