BOSTON -- Four years after doctors removed half of a young boy's brain to stop his seizure, the patient is doing well, WCVB in Boston reported.

When doctors couldn't stop Tyler Plotkin from having seizures, his parents were left with a difficult and painful decision. Doctors recommended removing half of Tyler's brain.

Tyler was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 3 weeks old. At 15 months, he was sometimes having more than 100 seizures per day.

Epilepsy is the third most common neurological disorder in the U.S., according to the medical journal Neurology. The right side of his brain was determined to be larger than his left, and doctors wanted to operate.

"Hearing doctors tell us that they want to take out half of our child's brain is not something you could ever prepare yourself for," said Erik Plotkin, Tyler's father.

The Plotkins tried everything before deciding to follow doctors' advice -- new medicines, different combinations of meds, a special diet -- but nothing helped, said Erik. The only way to help their son was to have him undergo a hemispherectomy to remove his right brain.

"The word hemispherectomy is a word that no parent should ever have to hear. The thought of removing a 15-month-old's entire right brain hemisphere was beyond scary," said Heather Plotkin, Tyler's mother.

The surgery took place at Boston Children's Hospital and went well, but Tyler wasn't out of the woods for long, Heather said.

A few weeks later, Tyler developed hydrocephalus -- a condition causing spinal fluid to build up in the right cranial cavity, his parents said. Tyler had to return to the hospital to have a shunt implanted in the right side of his skull to drain the fluid. The shunt will need to remain implanted for the rest of his life, said Tyler's parents.

After a rocky start, Tyler is finally on the road to recovery.

He's receiving physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy but still attends pre-K several times a week, said Heather.

It wasn't easy to get to this point. Now 5, Tyler has already undergone 20 surgeries.

His parents feel that the worst is over, saying they're very fortunate that their relationship with their son can now progress like any other family.

"Tyler's outlook went from quite bleak to quite good. We can now enjoy our son in a similar manner to those with healthy kids," said Heather.

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and the Plotkins are speaking out about their ordeal to raise awareness about a disorder that affects seven out of every 1,000 people. They're also alerting others in a similar situation to the foundation they started two years after Tyler's hemispherectomy.

The Tyler Foundation works to help improve the lives of families affected by epilepsy. The Plotkins raise money to provide financial support for patient care.

"As Tyler progressed in his therapy, he required several pieces of medical equipment: a stander, a gait trainer, a special chair, several pairs of foot braces and many other smaller pieces of therapy equipment. The list goes on and on," said Heather.

The foundation works to help families cover the cost of medical equipment, which, without insurance, can cost thousands of dollars, Heather said.

Families are also provided with other necessities that often go overlooked when they are focused on treating a serious disease. The foundation gives out gift cards to restaurants, parking passes, lodging costs and gas cards to cover transportation for medical and therapy visits.

"Because of the love and support that we received, we were inspired to reach out and help those that are not as fortunate," said Erik.

Beyond monetary contributions, The Tyler Foundation also understands how important emotional support can be too. Members of the foundation send e-mail notes, instant messages and phone calls to help uplift families who are in the middle of their struggles.

While the Plotkins have been through a lot since Tyler was born, they feel like the experience has enriched them and brought them closer together.

"Tyler has dramatically altered our perspective on what's really important and what's really difficult in life. It may be odd to hear that while our son has endured great challenges in his short life that we actually feel quite lucky," Heather said.