Brick by Brick: How Dell Children’s Helped Nand Rebuild His Life
For most people, tackling a 4,000-piece LEGO set would be a test of patience. For 26-year-old Nand Patel, it’s a source of pride and a complicated activity carried out with joy. It’s almost an unexpected gift.
Step into the Patel family’s game room and you’ll find shelves lined with intricate LEGO masterpieces — cars, architectural feats, and landmarks, and more that seem to defy logic. His latest? The Taj Mahal. Thousands of tiny pieces, a maze of microscopic instructions, and a feat of visualization that leaves even his proud parents in awe.
“He sees things we can’t,” his father, Vinay, says. “I have no idea how his brain works. But when he builds, it’s like magic.”
A Journey That Began at Five
When Nand was five years old, his parents began a journey they never expected. The young boy was diagnosed with epilepsy, and over the next two decades, they would try more than 30 different medications, undergo advanced therapies, and travel to countless hospitals across multiple states—never giving up hope for a solution.
Their path ultimately led them to Dell Children’s Medical Center, where Dr. Dave Clarke became a cornerstone of their family’s care. “He met with us and said, I have a plan,” Vinay recalls. “And that changed everything.”
In 2017, Dr. Clarke recommended laser ablation as an intervention. Dr. Mark Lee and the Dell Children’s neurology team performed Nand’s first laser ablation surgery, precisely targeting the area of his brain where his seizures originated. The results were life-changing—three seizure-free years with minimal medication. When the seizures returned in 2020, Dr. Clarke recommended a second ablation. Working alongside Dr. Tyler-Kabara, the Dell Children’s neurology team carefully performed the procedure and managed Nand’s treatment, helping bring his seizures back under control.
Today, with two seizure medications, regular follow-ups, and the expert guidance of the world-class neurology team at Dell Children’s, Nand’s seizures are well managed. He’s even preparing for something many families in their situation once thought impossible: learning to drive.
LEGO Builder. Karaoke Star. Pure Light.
Despite years of medical challenges, Nand is—in his parents’ words—“the happiest person in the world.”
Nand’s eyes light up when he talks about his LEGO sets. He spends hours immersed in puzzles and intricate builds that would stump most adults. What might look like a tangle of instructions to others comes to life in his hands with remarkable speed and precision. His older brother, Vinit, challenges him with the most complex sets—3,000- and 4,000-piece cars—and Nand completes them in just a few days.
And when he’s not building, he’s singing. Karaoke nights, family weddings, parties with hundreds of guests — he lights up the room. “If the sun is the world’s source of energy, then Nand is our family’s source of energy,” says Vinay. “He is a source of joy for our entire family.”
Care That Feels Like Family
For the Patels, Dell Children’s isn’t just a hospital. “Dr. Clarke is family,” says Nand’s mom, Nita. “We followed him when he moved hospitals and came back. We never doubted we’d be in the best hands.”
Nand recently transitioned to adult neurology care at UT Health Austin, but the family knows Dr. Clarke—and Dell Children’s—will always be part of their story. “He always has a plan,” they say. “We trust him completely.”
As the Patels prepare to travel to India this fall—their first trip in more than a decade—they do so with deep gratitude for the care that made it possible, and the comfort of knowing Dell Children’s will always be there for them, no matter where life takes them.
“Even in his hardest moments, Nand reminds us how to live with hope and love,” his father says. “He is a gift. And Dell Children’s gave us the chance to see that every day.”