Peyton's Resilience: Overcoming epilepsy with compassionate care

On August 2, 2019, Rachelle Guidry received a call she’ll never forget. Her only son, Peyton Anselmi, who was 14 years old at the time, was spending the weekend with his father in Thibodaux, LA, approximately an hour from Rachelle’s home. When Rachelle picked up the phone, his stepmother, Kristen, was on the other end of the line.  

“She started out by saying ‘Rachelle, it’s going to be OK, but we think Peyton had a seizure,’” Rachelle recalled. “I still get goosebumps talking about it—it was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever experienced in my life.”  

Peyton’s stepmom and his father, Anthony Anselmi, rushed him to the local ER, where Rachelle and her husband, Peyton’s stepfather, Bryan, met them as soon as they could. That ER happened to be at the same hospital where Rachelle works as a nurse practitioner.   

“Even though I work in healthcare and see these kinds of things every day, it’s completely different when it’s your child,” Rachelle said. “It was so scary, and at that point, we didn’t have any answers.”  

Peyton, who is autistic, sometimes faces challenges in communication, but it was evident to his family that he was just as surprised by the seizure as they were. An on-call neurologist carefully evaluated him, and after hours of uncertainty, Peyton was finally cleared to go home that evening. His entire family, united in their support and love, decided to spend the night at his father's house to be there in case he had another episode. 

“We are blended family, but we’re all on the same page, and we all support one another,” Rachelle said.   

After his evaluation in the ER that day, Peyton was referred to Children’s Hospital New Orleans for advanced testing and specialized care. The hospital’s Pediatric Epilepsy Program, a member of the National Association of Epilepsy Centers and affiliated with the LSU Health New Orleans Epilepsy Center of Excellence, provides expert, multidisciplinary care for children and young adults with epilepsy, and it is the only center in the region able to provide all current treatment options for children with epilepsy.  

At Children’s Hospital New Orleans, Peyton was evaluated by Dr. Daniella Miller, who specializes in child neurology and epilepsy.  

“Dr. Miller was great—she was so calming and caring,” Rachelle said. “She could tell we were worried because this is such a scary process, but she was a sigh of relief.”  

Dr. Miller performed a comprehensive evaluation on Peyton, which included digital monitoring and neuroimaging studies. She then worked closely with Peyton and his family to develop a personalized plan.  

“She explained that it may be trial and error, but that we would work together to find the right medicine and regimen for him,” Rachelle said.  

Over the next few months, Peyton had regular appointments with Dr. Miller as she worked to adjust his medication. He also continued to experience seizures more frequently, and his family tracked all of them carefully, which helped them determine specific triggers and circumstances which often preceded them.  

“We bought an FDA-cleared watch which monitored his seizure activity, and that helped us track when they were happening and how long they lasted,” Rachelle said. “Every time he would have a seizure, I would call Children’s, and Dr. Miller would personally call me back.” 

Rachelle recalled that during one of Peyton’s appointments, Dr. Miller sat her down and asked her what her goal was.  

“I remember telling her that I wanted to reduce his number of seizures to once or twice a year,” Rachelle said. “And Dr. Miller responded by saying that her hope was that he would become seizure-free. I asked her if that was a realistic goal, and she said, ‘yes,’ which gave all of us so much hope.”  

Dr. Miller continued to try new medicines while monitoring Peyton’s seizure activity. Finally, in 2021, after months of trial and error, she found success.  

“May 1, 2021, was Peyton’s last seizure,” Rachelle said. “Ultimately, the medicine that worked for him was Topamax (Topiramate). Of course, we didn’t know that was his last seizure at the time, but he hasn’t had one since.”  

Rachelle said that the relief Peyton and his entire family feels is indescribable.  

“The medicine is working wonders, and he doesn’t have any side effects—he’s back to his old self,” she said. “When the seizures were more frequent, he was more agitated, and it was hard for him to fully communicate how he was feeling. But he now gets to live his normal life again.”  

Peyton’s normal life is one filled with adventure and the love and support of his family. He enjoys traveling, playing video games, watching scary movies, and attending sporting events and music festivals. He’s currently enrolled in a college program and hopes to eventually work at his local fire department.  

 
"Caring for patients like Peyton is an incredibly rewarding experience,” said Dr. Miller. “Each case is unique due to the heterogeneity of seizure disorders, and we continuously employ state-of-the-art resources and utilize evidence-based therapies to find the best path forward for each patient. While it involves some trial and error, when we discover an effective combination, it is immense privilege to watch patients reclaim their lives." 

Peyton continues to see Dr. Miller every six months for monitoring and maintenance care. He looks forward to these visits, bringing with him a list of things to discuss, such as the latest scary movie he watched or a recent concert he attended.  

“They just sit and talk like old friends,” Rachelle said. “She has played such a huge role in his life, and we couldn’t be more thankful. We are so blessed to have her and the entire team at Children’s so close to home. They are all so knowledgeable and caring and have done so much for our family.”  

To learn more about the specialized epilepsy program at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, visit  https://www.chnola.org/services/neurosciences/epilepsy-center/