At the time The Deepest Cut was written, Lacy was a two-year-old girl suffering from hemimegalencephaly, a rare neurological condition that leads to an enlarged half of the brain, resulting in uncontrollable seizures that could lead to mental retardation. This disorder alters the life a child drastically; seizures lead to developmental decline in Lacy’s brain. Neurological decline of Lucy’s brain, at this early stage of human development, resulted in Lucy having trouble walking without her parent’s hand and made speech very difficult for her to articulate. Lacy’s parents, Wendy and Mike Nissley, understood the risks associated with the radical procedure of removing her right hemisphere; however, they wanted to provide the best possible life
