Celebrating 5
Years!!!!!!!
October 15, 2024
Today, October 15, 2024, marks 5 years grand mal seizure free for me. I’m very thankful and happy that I’ve gone this long.
I want everyone out there, that is going through this, to never ever give up. Do research, talk and meet different doctors, talk with other Epilepsy people. There is a whole lot of people that are going through it and know about it.Those people might know the answer you are looking for and you might know the answer they are looking for.
I’m eternally grateful for my family, friends, supporters, my team and my Neurologist, Dr. Z for helping me be where I am and helping me get through this.
Anyone that is struggling feel free to reach out to me. You can find my contact information under my “contact” link.
Yearly Epilepsy, Life, Adventures Update
October 2, 2024
Wow it’s been long time since my last “Epilepsy Topic”. I’ve been really busy since my last post…. I haven’t even posted in the year of 2024. The most beautiful girl in the world, Bethany Rhoades @bethany_rhoadess, and I started the new year by having a weekend together in Boston, MA. We went to the science museum and the aquarium.
Then, we celebrated our Valentine’s Day together at the casino. I threw $100 in the machine , but changed machines every couple of dollars. I got down to around $40 until I won $77 dollars and I left the casino almost $20 richer…. Bing bong!
I went to @bethany_rhoadess college all winter and spring. She’s going to Western New England University to get her doctorates degree to be a Pharmacist. I’m very thankful I’ll have someone help me stay on top of my seizure meds.
As months passed, I then went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my parents. I was able to get a little R & R, camping, zip lining, dinner at Paula Deans Restaurant and the Hard Rock Cafe.
As the next month approached, a couple weeks in, @bethany_rhoadess graduated with her Bachelor of Science: Pharmacy Studies degree. I’m so proud and beyond happy for her. She’s going to be the best pharmacist.
Over the summer, her and I took some trips together. We took a trip out to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. We relaxed on the beach and had some great food. After Hampton Beach we went to a Luke Combs concert in East Rutherford, NJ at MetLife Stadium. The concert was unbelievable. The stadium was rockin and it was so loud. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous about the flashing lights, but we were so far up and so far from the lights I didn't have to worry so much. Before Luke Combs came out, it started at 5:00pm with a couple of opening singers that we had no idea who a single one was, so that was a long 4 hours for us. It hit 9:00pm and that’s when Luke Combs came out and the party started. We'll never forget that night.
Throughout the year of 2024, I have had a couple of partial seizures. It happens around once a month, sometimes longer. I’ve explained the process in previous topics, but I’m very thankful they were not grandmal seizures. I hope I can keep this going for the rest of my life. On October 15, it will be 5 years grandmal seizure free for me and I hope I can keep climbing that ladder.
Also, today is my 27th birthday!
“If you don’t like where you are, just picture where you want to be”
December 15, 2023
There are times we do not like where we are. Whether it is too stressful, too loud, too many people, specifically who the person is, or just plain old boring.
For example, one of my many tough times with Epilepsy was when I couldn’t drive and go anywhere I’d like and be on my own. I would say to myself “damn if I could just have a slice of homemade pizza from……” or where I always wanted to be was New York City. Would I live there? No. I want to be able to open my door and see grass… have grass for my dog to be on and be off a leash. Be able to drive would help me get away from where I don't like where I am is the point of why not being able to drive was a tough time.
In terms of Epilepsy, I always felt if it was in a really crowded place with a million things going on at once; music, screaming, cheering, smashing shoulders, playing music I absolutely hate, made it stressful and the anxiety kicked in…. Your brain doesn’t know where it is….. especially if it’s where you don’t fit in. It’d be like if they were putting a bunch of chefs in a car repair class with chef outfits on.
Also, speaking of music, it makes the stress worse when it’s stupid stupid music you can’t stand. Play something that was made in this centre, not something that’s so old half the band is dead. Not everyone likes listening to the Beetles or John Melloncamp or Jimmy Buffet.…. This a new generation. All the old people think they’re better than us young people, but they’re not. This is the new world, we don’t play music that was made by railroad tracks or sitting by the river with a banjo and a five gallon bucket. These older people think they’re better than us until they have to lift heavy stuff or do any kind of hard work.
I got this from the 2017 movie “Wonder”, “If you don’t like where you are, just picture where you want to be.” Rather than sit there saying “I wish I was in….” Or “I wish I was at….” Pretend you’re there.
Throw on AirPods with a little Machine Gun Kelly and pretend you’re having the time of your life at his concert. Don’t let the crappy place you’re at take over and mess with your head. Don’t let the old music take over and mess with you and make you think you’re at a 60s concert.
I, personally, feel if you don’t actually get tough and at least pretend you are where you want to be, it makes you an angry person, causes migraines, stress, and/or anxiety which can eventually bring you to an absence seizure…. Which is what I have some times. I lose my hearing, I won’t know what the person infront of me is saying, but I get really loud ringing in my ears, my mind goes completely blank and I get little fast shakes in my head for about 15-20 seconds.
Picture you’re in Times Square, picture you’re sitting on a tailgate of a truck looking at the sunset, throw on an AirPod and play some MGK so it feels like you’re at a concert. Whatever it is you like to do, picture you’re there so you don’t have a seizure…... “If you don’t like where you are, just picture where you want to be.”
"Brooke Shields Seizure Episode"
November 8, 2023
So, as it was mentioned on the news, Brooke Shields had a grand mal seizure in New York City. Now, I don’t know of Brooke Shields very well. The only reason I have heard of her, is because I use to work in the rental shop at a ski resort. I was working at the boot counter, she came across the boot counter, received her ski boots, and she moved on. After she left, everyone was going crazy about her and who she is. So I googled her and found out she is quite the TV actress and very famous.
What I am jealous of, is having Bradley Cooper there for support. Bradley Cooper is definitely one of my favorite actors. All of his movies are amazing. My favorite is a true story called “American Sniper.” He acts as Chris Kyle, a United States Navy SEAL sniper. It’s a very powerful, strong, and dramatic film. Then there’s “Wedding Crashers”. It can be a little dirty, I wouldn’t let anyone under 16 years old watch it, but you’ll be crying of laughter if you watch it. He has so many great movies from drama to comedy to romantic.
According to CNN, “The actress was not facing death, thankfully, and explained that she was drinking “so much water” without realizing she was low on sodium at the time.
“I flooded my system, and I drowned myself. And if you don’t have enough sodium in your blood or urine or your body, you can have a seizure,” she said, adding that per doctor’s orders, her treatment plan includes eating potato chips “every day.”
I hope Brooke Shields is fully recovered from her grand mal seizure and she doesn’t have anymore. I’m glad she wasn’t driving a car like I was. Instead she was helped by Bradley Cooper. I hope to see her in my town again so I can sit down and talk to her about this.
"The Seizure I Won’t Forget"
August 7, 2023
Most of the time, you’re not able to remember having a seizure. Most of mine, I woke up with my parents in my face saying four awful words…. “You had a seizure.” Like when I had the one that caused me to lose my drivers license, I have no memory of it other than waking up in the hospital to my brother and nurses saying “you had a seizure.”
The one I have the most memory of is my last grand mal seizure i had and it was so awful. It was in the evening of a Tuesday on October 15, 2019. I remember chatting with my parents about how fun it would be to take a family trip to Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve always wanted to go because all of the country singers own bars and restaurants. I mean cmon, who wouldn’t want to go to Luke’s 32 BridgeRestaurant and the country music hall of fame? I’ll have to say that my number one thing to see, would be the Taylor Swift Exhibit in the museum. I wouldn’t go crazier for anyone over T-Swift.
I was looking up live cameras and running around the house showing it to everyone. Long story short, I blacked out. Next time I woke up, it was only for a couple of seconds, but I was vomiting every where non stop and my parents were trying to help me from getting it every where, and I blacked out again. Next time I woke up, I was in bed and my father walked into my bedroom to check on me, but I was so so tired…. Like I had never been so tired in my life. Later that same night, I had another seizure in my sleep and my parents drove me to Yale New Haven Hospital to see my Neurologist. In the emergency room, they increased the dose of my medication. I guess, according to the nurse, my neurologist had on file what to increase my medication to incase I had another grand mal seizure. They also took a chest x-ray because, I’m not sure if I’m saying this correctly, but they want to make sure there’s nothing caught in your chest and lungs from vomiting. It turned out it was all clear in the x-Ray.
That was my last grand mal seizure, as of October 15, 2019. I hope I never have any ever again. Grand mal seizures are scary and unexpected. You never know how it will go or where you’ll even be.
"When and Why I Knew She Was The Right Neurologist"
May 26, 2023
Having Epilepsy involves multiple multiple doctor visits. You go with who your local doctor recommends, which is what I did, but like I said in the previous topic, he was too far away. Then I went to UConn Health, but that doctor was so rude she should be fired. Then, from a long time family friend of mine, whom also has Epilepsy, recommended another, much closer, Neurologist for me. This Neurologist was located only 30 minutes away from me. This lady sat down and gave me all of her time, was patient, kind, and promised that she’d help me get through this. She did not mention things I would have to do way way in the future if my medication did not work. She did not yawn while my family and I spoke to her like the gentleman did at Yale New- Haven Health. She ran me through steps of what I would do if my medication did not work; how many times a day, what types, how many milligrams and doses. I would increase the dose for the morning. If that did work, increase it for the night. If that did not work, increase it for the day and so on and so on. I did not like that they only made changes in the morning and night in between seizures not at the same time, but coming from me, I think it is because they wanted to see if my seizures happen at night or morning. My seizures were more at night. After a day of working, so around dinner time was when they happened.
This Neurologist was actually looking me in the eyes and absorbing all that I was telling her. The moron in Yale was laid back, yawning, and I’m 99% sure he didn’t look at me, other than when I got there and when I left. Like, I don’t mind the guy, I trust him, but you should straighten up and look me in the eyes a couple of times in the 2 hours I’m sitting in your closet of an office with dead plants and cement walls of an outdoor view….. it felt like I was on the season of Walking Dead when they lived at the old prison.
The thing, most of all, that she did right before I left, was give me her personal number and say to me “call me anytime.” The guy at Yale won’t even answer emails. How hard is it to type an answer back? If you can’t answer an email you’re garbage. The lady at UConn makes you go through a bunch of people and wait for her to call back….. if she even does that.
Couple of years later, I find out she’s moving to a different location and cutting back on patients. I was getting low on my medication so, while I was at work, I had my mother call her office to have her call my pharmacy and have a new order of my medication to be made. She didn’t answer and she had a voicemail set saying that she’s cutting back on patients and moving to a different location. My mother got worried and called her personal phone, and she said “yes I’m moving locations and cutting back on patients, but don’t worry you are not one of them.”
I’ve never had a doctor be that nice, and they all should be that nice. They shouldn’t be miserable mumbling, slouched back, and yawning like the other two. They should be looking you in the eyes, listening, and absorbing like my current Neurologist does. Help all patients as if they were your own family member.
"Spitting Out Words"
March 30, 2023
Have you ever sat there listening to your Neurologist and just looked at them and thought you were listening to Miss. Oathmar from Charlie Brown? The doctor that diagnosed me with Epilepsy, was a Neurologist at Yale New Haven Hospital. I didn’t think he was a bad guy. He knows everything there’s to know
about Epilepsy, So much that he’s on YouTube, the News, podcast, and even writes his own books. The only tough thing about him was that he is just shy of 2 hours away from where I live. So my family and I did a little bit of research to see if we could find someone that is as experienced but closer. We eventually found a women at UConn Health. UConn Health was still a far drive, but not as far as Yale. UConn was similar to Yale, ginormous and very beautiful. The Neurologist at UConn, was definitely the worst one. I just didn’t think she had a heart, patience and time like a real Neurologist should. The thing that really got me and upset me was the words she was spitting out. I’ve done this tune up before…. they ask me when Epilepsy began, how many seizures I’ve had, how long it’s been since my last one, look at my parents and ask how long the seizures last, yada yada yada. After that, she said all that is possible to happen and for me to have to do. Like she brought up brain surgery. She said I’d do a 7 day EEG in the hospital, and not take my seizure medication. When I have a seizure within those 7 days the EEG would calculate exactly what part of my brain triggers the seizure so they’d know what to do in the surgery. Then ended her speech with “but that’s way way down the road”. I, being the patient, was so shocked that she said that. Putting something in my head that’s so far down the road and such a big deal is so wrong. That’s like telling someone that buys chocolate “if you keep eating that, way way down the road, you’ll be over weight.” I just find that to be very wrong to tell your Epilepsy patients about brain surgery so soon. Just say what the next step is; what the next thing to do is. It was very wrong for the Neurologist to say something so far in the future. Not only was it far in the future, but it was something very scary to do. It might not be scary for everyone, but it is for me. All of the Neurologist I’ve met, never brought that up. People always say “there’s always a bad one in everyone crowd” and she was the one… located at UConn Health. She was the one “Spitting Out Words.”
“ThiNk BeFoRe You SpEak”
March 1, 2023
Today, I’m going to talk about speaking to people that have Epilepsy. I don’t know if it’s only me, but ever since my seizures, my speech has changed. It has gotten harder to understand me while I speak and that is mostly why I write my topics rather than speak. Of course, I’d much rather speak this. I’d love to start a podcast and speak all of this. After noticing all of this, I went to a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) and she made me go for an ENT (Ear Nose Throat Test) where they stuck a camera down my throat to watch my voice box while I speak. Let me tell you damnnnnn that sucked. After that test, my SLP diagnosed me with Spasmodic Dysphonia, so I speak slower with a couple of deep breaths. With my speech problem I feel a lot of people speak to me like I’m a baby… or they’ll get really close to my face to answer my question like I can’t hear them. Another really aggravating one is when they talk to you with their mouth wide open and saying the words slowly. I’m like what is this, pre-school Learn A Word Day? I have Epilepsy, I know what you’re saying. The funny thing is that it makes them look like a fool though. Like when I worked at this store running the cash register, I’d have some trouble to say the customers cash total clearly and quickly so that the line didn’t build up. Luckily many people were cool and understandable about it and even most people could understand what I was saying. There was a day though where a neighbor of mine, whom I know quite well, asked me a question. After I answered her question, she asked me if I had laryngitis. It didn’t upset me, it just blew my mind because it’d be like asking a person with a wheel chair what happened to them. The lady is very smart and has a great education, but won’t keep a job along with all of her smart kids that I grew up with. I don’t ask her why she can’t hold a job because I don’t know if she has a problem or if she’s a loser and refuses to work. I don’t ask why all of her kids refuse to work and still live home when they’re older than me. People like her should worry about getting a job for herself and helping her kids get a life rather than worry about why I speak the way that I do.
Us people that have a disability problem like Epilepsy, speech, walking, we can’t change the problem we have, it’s just the way we are. The point I’m making is to just be careful and ThiNk BeFoRe You SpEak.
“Big Night Tonight…”
December 31, 2022
Today is the last 24 hours of the year 2022. People like to party a little bit extra, get a little bit crazy and, of course, stay up until midnight. Is it okay to party with friends and family until midnight? Yes, but is it okay to drink alcohol beverages? From my multiple doctor appointments, checkups, tests etc., my doctors say to avoid drinking alcohol and mixing it with your medication because “if you have epilepsy, drinking alcohol can have serious consequences.” Full reason at https://www.epilepsy.com/what-is-epilepsy/seizure-triggers/alcohol (Epilepsy Foundation of America (Author: Steven C. Schachter, MD and Reviewed By: Joseph I. Sirven MD).
Staying up until midnight, well we all cannot help that we have to it’s a whole new year. What wouldn’t hurt to do before staying up until midnight is taking a short nap before the party kicks off. If you regularly go to bed at 11pm, that’s a whole hour that your mind is being changed, it’s use to being shut down by then. Before I was diagnosed with Epilepsy and I stayed up really late for a unprepared hangout, I’d have horrible migraines the whole next day(s). So if you take a short nap, it’ll boost your energy up so that you can watch the clock strike midnight.
Tonight is a big night and everyone please be safe and I hope we all have a Happy, Safe and Healthy year 2023!!!!!!
Happy New Year!!!
From: Eriks Office Of Epilepsy
“What I do when I feel a seizure is about to occur”
October 10, 2022
When I feel a seizure is about to occur, my mind goes blank, I lose my hearing, my right leg heats up, then my head shakes. I do know where I am, but if I was asked what 2+2 was, I would not know. If I was asked what my dogs names are, I would not be able to answer the question. Now, when a grand mal seizure is occurring, I get those four reactions, but when my head shakes, in a matter of 5 seconds, I black out and then a grand mal seizure happens.
When a grand mal does not happen, I get three of those reactions (no head shaking) and in a matter of 20-30 seconds my mind comes back and it all goes away.
What I do when I feel those three reactions happening, I sit right where I am and just relax. When I am at work (in a store), I go to a spot; a corner, all alone and just wait for it to go away. Luckily, knock on wood, I have not had a grand mal seizure since October 15, 2019, but I do have those small, tiny, controllable ones around once a month and when I feel it happening, I just sit back, relax, and wait for it to all go away. It makes it worse when you panic and worry. If you worry, the seizure takes over, but you need to let it know you’re not scared of it and you’re the boss.
“The People That
Actually
Understand You
and Epilepsy”
July 11, 2022
The people that don’t care for you due to your disability, your physical issue, the way that your speech is, being different, not being able to do certain things, not being able to keep up with them, not being able stay up late, not being able to drink alcohol and/or having Epilepsy, are not real friends. Do not to change who you are for them, pick better people. Always know, the real ones are out there; the real ones that know and understand what you can do and handle doing; the ones that take their time to wait for you and make sure you are still with them. Those negative and impatient ones do not deserve you…….. let them go. Wait for it and be patient, and you’ll blink your eyes and the people that actually understand you and Epilepsy, will be right by your side until the end of time.
“Being Held Accountable”
May 30, 2022
Epilepsy can cause a lot of nervousness, worry, and put a lot on your mind which then follows to the way you work at your job. If you work differently and not as good in other words make some mistakes, you can later be threatened with “that you’ll be held accountable”. My point in this talk is to not let those words scare you. The job you’re at, needs you more than you need them. It’s very hard to find help now and days and you are already employed by them, so if you get fired, they need to pay into your unemployment and it makes them look bad for firing you. It might make them feel bigger and better for getting rid of you, but it makes them look really bad. Also, it doesn’t take long for it to spread around town for how difficult it is to work for that person or that company. Also, as said by Mass.gov, “If you are eligible to receive Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, you will receive a weekly benefit amount of approximately 50% of your average weekly wage, up to the maximum set by law. As of October 3, 2021, the maximum weekly benefit amount is $974 per week.” Also, “The maximum number of weeks you can receive full unemployment benefits is 30 weeks (capped at 26 weeks during periods of extended benefits and low unemployment).” So, not only does the word spread of how bad that job is, but also the unemployment pay you receive comes right out of that company, business, persons pocket and is given to you for doing no work at all.
“Don’t Live In Fear, Make Memories”
April 7, 2022
Epilepsy causes a lot of fear to the people that have it……… their family members, their love ones, and their friends too. Being the one with Epilepsy, you should not let it take over your life and waste your time. You should not let Epilepsy keep you from driving and traveling where you want because you won’t make any memories. There are a lot of illnesses in the world that keep you in the hospital for months and you’re not able to go anywhere you want whenever you want. It is scary to drive a vehicle with Epilepsy, trust me I know, but being able to be in your house and being able to go where you want when you want is such a big gift compared to how other illnesses make you live. Take control of it and use it because life goes by too fast to waste it. "Don’t live in fear, make memories.”
ABCs of Epilepsy
March 29, 2022
"What should you do when someone is having a seizure?"
February 23, 2022
- Clear their surroundings.
- Make sure their head is on a safe and soft surface
- Time how long the seizure was.
- DO NOT hold them down or try to stop their physical actions.
- Try to put them on their side to help clear their airway.
- NEVER leave them alone; stay with them until it is over.
"Beginnings of Love"
January 26, 2022
When you’re at the very moment of feeling like there’s a mutual feeling of love; date nights, long phone calls, FaceTime, Snapchatting, hangouts on a regular basis, you should let them know that you have Epilepsy. I know that it is hard and risky to do, but if they are still there for you and their feelings do not change, that shows that they’re very loving, caring, understanding and the one for you. If they lose feelings for you and don’t like you anymore, that proves they were not the right one and they do not deserve you.
There are multiple ways to confess to them that you have Epilepsy. One way, or course, is to just flat out tell them “I have Epilepsy. I was diagnosed……”. Another way is when you are talking about what you both like to do, tell them you like to volunteer with the Epilepsy Foundation America (EFA), you are an ambassador, you like to be a supporter for people struggling with Epilepsy. It’ll give them an idea that you must have it if you’re an ambassador with EFA. Also, you can have in your bio/information/about you on your Instagram and Facebook “Epilepsy Awareness Ambassador” because when they go to your profile it is the first part of you that they see, other than your name.
Real adult relationships, like and support true honesty. They like you no matter what is wrong with you. I, myself, understand that it is hard to tell them that you have Epilepsy, but the longer you wait the more feelings you have and the harder it will be for you to say goodbye if they reject you after you tell them.
"What is something that you should always have on you after you are diagnosed with Epilepsy?"
January 7, 2021
You should wear a bracelet with your name, your disability (Epilepsy), a siblings, parents, love ones, and anyone that you are close withs phone number on it so that when the EMT arrives, they know what your exact problem is and who to contact.
When I had my car accident, due to a seizure, the police tor my vehicle apart because they thought I was over dosing on drugs. I went to get my vehicle back from where it was towed to and it was such a mess inside. They ripped every paper out of my glove box, my center console, and my trunk. If I was wearing the bracelet during the accident, they would’ve known right away what the whole reason of the accident was. The doctor at the hospital told me that EMTs always check your wrists. You can purchase your Medical ID Bracelet at
https://www.americanmedical-id.com/stainless-steel-small-flex-silicone-medical-id-bracelet.html
for just $17.95 just like mine.
"What to be aware of on New Years Eve night being a person that’s diagnosed with Epilepsy"
December 31, 2021
The New Year is now approaching; celebrations, parties, late nights, cheering, large gatherings and much more. Some of those things can be a little risky for us epileptic people. One of the biggest things is to try and rest up before the parties and events. Without some pre-party rest, that could cause a seizure. If you work a 8+ hour day and go straight to the party without any rest and stay up later than midnight, that could cause a seizure. Also, you might want to try an avoid alcohol. Mixing alcohol with your medication is a possible cause of seizure for some people. The most important one of all is to NOT forget to take your medication with you and to take it at the same time you would if it was a regular night. Being a night of celebration, the time goes by a lot faster and you get sidetracked. So, the best thing to do about taking your medication on time, would be to set an alarm on your smart phone. Happy New Year everyone and I hope that we all have an amazing, safe, happy and healthy 2022!!!!
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a diagnoses if you have 2 or more seizures. A seizure is when there is too much activity in the brain and it causes uncontrollable activity between two brain cells which brings you to a seizure. 1 in 26 people in the world will discover a seizer one time in their life time.
01
Tonic Clonic Seizure
Grand Mal Seizure
Violent muscle contraction.
02
Focal Seizure
Aura Seizure
Unusual eye movement, rapid heart rate, numbness, tingling.
03
Absence Seizure
Blank out and stare into the sky.
04
Myoclonic Seizure
Jerking of the lips, jaw jerking, and/or twitching of the corners of the mouth.
"What is an Electroencephalogram (EEG)?"
An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures the activity in your brain.
The doctors/nurses glue multiple wires to your head to find out what part of the brain the problem occurs and causes the seizure.
When the time for my EEG came upon, they told me that I was going to do a 7
day EEG test. I would stay at the hospital for 7 days with all of the wires attached to my head, without taking my medication. That way, when I have a seizure they would know exactly where in my brain the problem occurs.
They scheduled my EEG test on October 15, 2019 when my last Grand Mal seizure
occurred, for December 2019. From October 15 to December, I luckily did not have a seizure, so I refused to do my 7 day EEG test since everything was going so good. Instead, I did a 4 day EEG test that I was able to stay at home and do. They attached all of the wires to my head and there was also a laptop and camera to see what I was doing. I had to do a 4 day EEG test so that I was able to legally drive a vehicle again. The worst thing about it, was that someone was watching what I was doing 24/7. After my 4 day EEG test, they did not notice any red flags or strange activities, so I was able to be back on the road.
"What is there to do after you are diagnosed with epilepsy and cannot legally drive a vehicle?"
When I was diagnosed with epilepsy and I could not drive anymore, I had no idea
what I was going to do. I am use to being able to go to a friends house, going out with friends, going to a family members house, or going and buying a specific food that I feel like that very moment. When my license was taken away, all of those exciting things were taken away. It is hard to ask friends to come and get you. It is a lot easier to get in your own car and go to them.
When my license was taken away, there were a couple of safe activities I did to
stay busy and I did not need to constantly ask for a ride. One, I bought multiple colors of paint and painted pictures. I thought of something I really liked and what came to mind, was my chickens. Then I had to have a background to add more colors, so the next thing that came to my mind was money. So on my painting, you will find the colors gold, green, blue, and brown/bronze for money.
Second, I worked out to stay fit and active. When you cannot drive, go
somewhere you want whenever you want, and be social, you can easily become a couch potato and not do anything. I used my doorway pull up bar (Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar) that cost an average of $25. With that little tool, I was able to do pull-ups, push-ups, chin-ups, dips, and crunches. Just doing all of those workouts in a total of ten minutes, can keep you very fit and busy.
Also, I used my Wii Fit game. On Wii Fit, there is a Yoga game that you need the
Wii Fit Balance Board to play. You can do multiple different types of Yoga exercises that helps keep you and the mind relaxed mind and keep you in shape.
"Possible causes of your seizures"
- Forgetting to take your medication.
- Working too hard for too long; more than you can handle.
- Too much anxiety.
- Too much stress.
- Too much fear.
- Too much activity going on at once.
- Not enough rest/sleep before starting an active day.
Celebrities with Epilepsy
Cameron Boyce
American Actor. Starred in Disneys "The Descendants" and "Jesse". Also known as Keithie Feder in the movies Grown Ups 1 & 2.
(May 28, 1999 - July 6, 2019)
Lil Wayne
American Rap Star.
Rick Harrison
American Businessman. TV Star on A&Es Pawn Stars.
Danny Glover
American Actor.
Starred in "Lethal Weapon", "Saw" (2004), "Almost Christmas", and "Death at a Funeral".
Work vs. Epilepsy
Epilepsy can and cannot hurt your chance to work. It can because if you work for too strict and too mean of a person that does not understand you, they will end your dreams. If they are a nice and caring person that takes time to learn your problem and what is bad for your disability, like epilepsy, then they are the one that you want to stay with and work for.
When I was just 18 years-old, I worked for a women at her garden center that has been running for many years. I wasn’t at the job for more than a month. She embarrassed me in front of the other employees and asked me about my physical problem. That right there, sent up a red flag, but I kept my head up, and let that pass by. After that, she just got more strict and less caring, which made me quit.
Today, for over two years, I have been working at a farm store. It is not my dream job, but the reason I am full-time, working only day shifts, and only working week days, is because my boss is the most understanding person I have ever worked for. She has currently transferred to another one of the stores, but she was very understanding and took time to understand me and believed in me and she is why I am full-time.
So, if you are waiting to have a boss that understands your problem with epilepsy, give it time because they are out there. If you are currently working for someone that is negative towards you, and/or bullies you, because of epilepsy, they are just letting their anger out to you because something bad happens in their personal life. Also, if he/she doesn’t allow you to do what the other employees do, all because of epilepsy, just know they are not the right boss that you should work for and they’re mad about something else that they do not want you to know about. If you can deal with their negativity, and you love the job, then you should stay with that job, because a full-time job is very hard to find today.
"DO NOT LET OTHERS BRING YOU DOWN WITH THEM"
Do you think Epilepsy has affected your speech?
To me, I think it has affected my speech. After a couple of grand mal seizures later, I felt that my speech had turned into a bit of a curveball. I can be little bit hard to understand, but if I am with the right people, they understand me and know that I am trying my best. My speech, is mostly due to the shortness of breath, but it's ever since I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Before my seizures, I was never this hard to understand.
Contact me at eriksofficeofepilepsy@gmx.com if you feel the same way.
One Thing That
I Recommend
Take a minute, look around and think about who you are and what you have. With epilepsy, you lose your drivers license, your worries increase, your chances of going out decrease, and your life changes. Every time I wanted to go some where or I needed something, I had to ask for a ride. I have an amazing family that takes me anywhere and they will go anywhere that I need to go to, but if you want time to yourself in your car, it is not the same.
So if you are able, and you want to go somewhere and look at something or see someone..... go see it, go see them, go be there, experience it, take it in, love it, and enjoy it, because life changes too fast.