TOLEDO Girl's skating skills amaze neurologist

The 8-year-old has a form of epilepsy that makes other activities difficult.
TOLEDO (AP) -- Cassandra Wilson's twirls, twists and turns on ice are anything but typical as far as her neurologist is concerned.
Hundreds of times each day, a rare form of epilepsy scrambles the electrical signals in her brain, which prevents her from riding a bike or concentrating in the classroom -- and would seem to make it impossible to skate.
But the curly-haired 8-year-old is somehow able to glide across the ice without any apparent interruption by her condition.
"This just blows my mind," Dr. Donald Cameron of Perrysburg told The Blade for a story Sunday. "I've been in child neurology over 20 years, and I can't remember something more extraordinary than this."
Dr. Gregory Holmes, president elect of the American Epilepsy Society, agrees.
"It's quite remarkable she's able to figure skate," he said.
Cassandra's condition is called absence epilepsy, a form that afflicts about one in five of those who suffer from the disorder. While most epileptics' seizures are violent and visible, Cassandra's occur in her brain with few outward indications.
Erratic electrical signals
In her condition, the electrical signals that relay information between brain cells become frenzied. This causes an interruption in the normal flow of information, making it hard, if not impossible for people with Cassandra's condition to ride a bike, swim or perform in a traditional classroom.
Typical brain wave activity, when viewed with medical scanners, looks calm and peaceful. But brain wave images during Cassandra's seizures appear much more chaotic.
"It looks like an electrical storm," Cameron said. "It's major voltage change. It looks like a seismic graph, like an earthquake. This happens hundreds, if not thousands, of times daily."
Cassandra began figure skating at a rink in northwest Ohio before her condition was discovered. She was diagnosed two years ago -- after her parents, Tom and Penny Wilson, discovered that other activities didn't come easy for her.
"We tried to teach her how to ride a bike, but she couldn't do it and we couldn't figure out why," her father said.
Her mother also has home-schooled Cassandra since the first grade, after teachers thought the girl wasn't paying attention.
Takes advanced lessons
Now, the family drives three times a week for advanced lessons at the Detroit Skating Club in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, where several national and Olympic ice skating champions have trained.
The Wilsons dream that Cassandra could one day be an Olympic skater.
"When she gets on that ice, she's a totally different person," Mrs. Wilson said. "It's her safe haven."
"It's fun," adds Cassandra.
Epilepsy affects about two out of every 100 children. The seizures eventually disappear in most youngsters. Cameron said it's too soon to tell if that will happen with Cassandra.
She has a severe form of the disorder that hasn't responded well to medication, he said.