I’m a teacher and teaching about epilepsy is part of my curriculum. Off campus, I try to be as open and as transparent as possible. It’s repetitive…boring…frustrating…infuriating…but it comes with the territory. The only way people will know is if we’re willing and able to talk about it. I guarantee every single time I’ve talked, it’s been therapeutic; it does the soul good 😌

Good to hear other people are doing it. I have found most if not all GP's, Family doctors, PA's are usually clueless about epilepsy and seizures so I teach them. I have even taught specialists in my different fields, I have even taught Neurologists things they have never heard before. It shocked me at first to see how limited people's knowledge is it about seizures and epilepsy, but after years of teaching people I'm not surprised anymore. I usually expect limited knowledge now. I try to keep it simple what I have found for most people, but I can get technical with specialists and they can follow what I'm talking about for a bit, but I can go into areas even a specialist can't keep up with me and I'm telling the things I've know since 1980. The things I teach are not even in a book but it's all factually. I figured this stuff out in my early 20's. They can understand something in a book, but if it isn't in a book I totally lose them. I can tell just by the look on their face. I have learned to stop seizures by fighting them off. I've done it in front of a number of different doctors in various fields and they are all specialists and they are totally dumbfounded and have no explaination. I even have told them what I had just done and they have no words, only a shocked look on their face, because it something they have never seen before in their life and didn't know it could be done. About 2 weeks ago I was talking to a cancer specialist and telling him about epilepsy and seizures. After about 90 seconds he was totally lost and had no clue what I was talking about. I remember him looking at me and saying "How do you know so much about the Brain?" I used to be ashamed of my condition like most people are with epilepsy. Just over 8 years ago I was teach a young girl with epilepsy about her condition and it finally dawned on me how much I know and understand the condition I might as well stop being ashamed and start teaching everyone about it so others don't have to experience what I went through in the 70's and 80's. So now I teach as many people as possible, even if I don't know them. It's pretty basic and so many people have thanked me for teaching them. You can see how their psychology changes as you speak to them and teach them things they have never heard before and they are grateful to have learned something new and different. I even teach people over the phone and they are glad I had taught them something new and interesting and many get so interest the go home that day and look up more things on the internet because they get so interested in what I had taught them. I get some people so interested in the brain and seizures they tell me I should write a book and I just might one of these days.

I do, in a way. I substitute teach, and I tell all my principals and any teachers that I work with about my seizures and what to do if I have one. I also educate the kids I work with-or at least tell them out it. Because I get the inevitable question “Ms N, why are you shaking?” All the time. So, I have to tell them “I have epilepsy, my hands shake because of it, and no, you can’t catch it.” The kids are the most chill about it.

First Aid differs depending on what kind of seizures, what brings them on, From what I understand, if it is a Grand Mal Convulsive one, you are supposed to put something soft on the floor. Lay them down and turn them on the side so they do not swallow Saliva. Most important stay calm. Stay with them until it ends. If it lasts over 5 minutes I think 911 is supposed to be called.

Leslie

My Family definitely and out of necessity you have to inform people that you work with most of it can bring you a little closer and look after a family feel. ericthom3