Toby bounces back on return to class

CELINA - The epilepsy warrior has conquered all his physical training exercises since his surgery last month and has a whole new attitude at school.

Seven-year-old Toby Van Tilburg had surgery in December in the hopes of stopping his seizures.

When doctors discovered a malformation in his right hippocampus several years ago, they told his parents, Allison and Jason, that Toby had only a 5% chance his seizures would continue past the age of 6. But the seizures did not stop and signs of epilepsy became noticeable by age 5.

Toby recalled not being scared when going into surgery to remove "the bad stuff" from his brain.

Toby said he felt weak on the left side of his body afterward. Doctors did not anticipate this reaction, but Allison and Jason Van Tilburg said they believe it was caused by Toby's lying on that side of his body for eight to nine hours during the operation.

Toby has maintained a positive attitude while doing his physical therapy exercises and has regained most of his strength on his left side, Jason Van Tilburg said. Doctors are having Toby climb several flights of stairs and performing several exercises that improve hand-eye coordination.

The Van Tilburgs have created a #TeamToby Facebook page so people can follow his recovery story. Support from family and friends on the page has been overwhelming, Allison Van Tilburg said.

"It's nice to know our small town is supporting him," she has said.

Toby said he was anxious to go back to school and brought along a newly found can-do attitude that his teacher Marty Frahm said has rubbed off on his classmates.

"Toby arrives at school every day with a smile," Frahm said, adding his student is eager to learn new things, and his math skills have taken off,

"He is proud of himself for passing Rocket Math, a math fluency program where he practices with a classmate and then takes a timed test," she pointed out.

Toby cannot participate in gym class or go outside for recess yet, so he has enjoyed staying inside for recess and playing card and board games with his classmates instead.

During recess on Friday, he played Headbanz, a game in which a player tries to guess the image on a card placed in the headband while other players give hints.

"It is such a joy to hear him laughing with his classmates when playing Sorry, Trouble or Headbanz during recess," Frahm said.

Toby's story of endearment has brought the entire primary school closer together, principal Michelle Duncan said.

"It's neat to see the teachers, staff, students and community come together to support a kid in the building," she added.

Frahm later checked on Toby at home, his mother said.