Perhaps you know someone who has epilepsy. Perhaps you yourself have it. The writer of this article has suffered with epilepsy for over seventeen years, more than half her life. She would like to share with you her take on epilepsy.
It is life changing in so much as the sufferer must live life under new rules, rules different from that of family members and friends. He or she may have to give up like driving, alcohol consumption, or climbing stairs where alone. But before you assume that I am an all negative disabled complainer hear me out. It is not my personal goal to complain but to educate.
So in an attempt to educate, I will explain what a seizure can look like not from the eyes of a potential bystander, not from the eyes of a doctor reading an EEG, but from inside the very being of a person while having a seizure. For me the moment of seizure is often a moment of not knowing. I do not know I am having a seizure, even if I’m wondering around, seemingly looking right at people and making senseless noises. So you see, during a seizure the person with epilepsy may not be suffering at all.
It is when they wake up with the realization that they just had a seizure that a feeling of helplessness may set in. When you realize you do not know what you were doing right before the seizure, nor how long it lasted that frustration may set in. Thoughts like, I hope I did not fall and bang my head, or did I bite my this time float through the broken mind while a desire to just go no like nothing happened sea-saws with the idea that you should most likely take a nap.
Working adds a boat load of extra concerns for someone who is prone to seizures. If you need to get to work but do not drive you either walk, bicycle, rely on public transportation or friends and family. If for what ever reason, illness weather etc. your transportation can not be relied on getting to work can be quite a challenge. There is always the question about disclosing your disability and to who exactly. Do you tell your boss but not your coworkers? Your coworkers and not your boss? When? Why? How do you bring it up without the possibility of them becoming either over protective of you, afraid of you or afraid you will not do a good job working?
With all that has been said here I have hardly touched the surface of what it is like to life with epilepsy. All people with seizures have different takes on things. Please know I’m not trying to generalize for all. If you are interested in this article rest assured there is plenty more to come on this subject. I will be starting