Imagine your day at work -- interrupted not by too many phone calls or emails - but a seizure.

One Madison man has spent 17 years battling epilepsy - until doctors implanted a device into his brain - an experimental, life-altering surgery.

"I started to notice that words were blurring out of textbooks as I was studying."

John Mirasola has epilepsy - on average 10 episodes a month.

Mirasola says, "I can hear a voice but I have no idea what that person is saying. It's very easy for me to walk off in another direction. I don't get violent or anything but someone can lead me back to sit me down until it stops."

He's had trouble holding down jobs and isn't able to drive.

"It's caused me trouble with friends who are not comfortable around me. It's caused me trouble with employment issues. I've lost jobs because of it. I've tried just about every medicine on the market. And nothing has worked."

But last week, John underwent surgery at UW Hospital that gives him hope.

"What's new and groundbreaking is that this technology listens actually through the electrodes implanted in the brain and actually can detect a seizure which is a brand new -- there's never been anything implanted like this."

During John's surgery doctors implanted a "neuropace" stimulator.

It's the only device that could end the seizures altogether.

"Now we are in the position to make significant changes."

Previously, doctors used a device that gave regular "shocks" to the brain on a schedule, instead of before an actual seizure like the Neuropace.

"I really had decided to get aggressive in a good way about this."

John did well in surgery and is already resting quietly at home -- anticipating a new life.

"I used to be a climber and a hiker, I used to love driving road trips, I love road trips. It's caused me problems with intimate relationships and you know it's just something that I want to completely 100 % own again."

We want to emphasize that Neuropace is not yet FDA approved -- that could take several years. But, doctors expect it will get quite a bit of use as the clinical trial progresses.