did you know there are 450,000 sufferers of Epilepsy in the UK alone.
that is 1 in every 131 people.
1000 people die of the condition every year.
You will probably come into contact with someone with Epilepsy sometime in your life so please treat us like human beings.
We know a seizure can be a very difficult and upsetting thing to see but please give us room, dont fuss and above all dont stand in a crowd and stare when we are trying to come round again. We are confused, dissorientated and its kinda frightening when there is a rather large crowd gawping at us and makes us feel like freaks!!
Thanks
Thursday 28 June 2007
Monday 25 June 2007
Lets get educated.....
One of the biggest problems of being epileptic is the lack of awareness of the condition. Many a time has a stranger been injured due to acting upon the wsrong advice. People are still making the mistake of holding and restraining sufferers whilst they are having a seizure. This not only puts them in danger but also the sufferer. Some folks also stick fingers in your mouth to stop you choking on your tongue. The chance of this happening are actually very slim and all that may happen is we bite their fingers off.
The general population have never experienced someone have a seizure, Ive been a sufferer for 18 years and I still havent seen one(Im not there when I have one lol), and it is understandable that they either go into shock, panick, or just act on impulse which can put everyone invovled in danger.
Ignorance in the work place is always a bone of contention. Unless you have an amazingly understanding employer you will encounter huge problems, some of my experiences I will highlight at a later date.
These problems should be addressed and education and awareness should be a top prority and it is my goal to make this happen.
If you happen across this blog please let everyone know about it. Leave a comment about experiences or even to let me know you dont know much about seizures and our condition.
The general population have never experienced someone have a seizure, Ive been a sufferer for 18 years and I still havent seen one(Im not there when I have one lol), and it is understandable that they either go into shock, panick, or just act on impulse which can put everyone invovled in danger.
Ignorance in the work place is always a bone of contention. Unless you have an amazingly understanding employer you will encounter huge problems, some of my experiences I will highlight at a later date.
These problems should be addressed and education and awareness should be a top prority and it is my goal to make this happen.
If you happen across this blog please let everyone know about it. Leave a comment about experiences or even to let me know you dont know much about seizures and our condition.
Saturday 23 June 2007
My first time..........
20 years ago. It was my eighteenth birthday and all was well in the world. My parents celebrated with my twin and I by giving us a long lie, we lived on a very busy farm, and we both got very expensive watches. I was emensly happy.
We all had a busy day, tending to the herd, the horses and generally trying to catch up on the duties missed in the morning and we did our best to do some of the work for the next day. Amazingly we finished at 4 pm.
A couple of hours later and our taxi arrived to take us to our birthday party. Finally legal to have a "bevvy". We had been to pubs before, got drunk a few times, but it seemed like a milestone and it felt great not to worry about being asked for id.
On arrival we were astonished at the amount of friends and family that had taken the time to wish us the best and of course get at the free buffet and the free drinks at the bar. We are all Scottish after all.
Our proud Dad made a small but heart warming speach about how we were now men and that he was very proud of both of us and then he took us to the bar to order drinks. (he insisted that he be the first to buy this very first pint in a pub (little did he know)).
With our cold pints of 80%, eighty shilling (a scottish ale to anyone not familiar), we both mingled and welcomed our guests. This was going to be a great night.
The Band had arrived and were playing their first song when an amazing waft of sweet strawberries filled my senses, the smell was so strong that I could not concentrate on anything else.I looked around for the source but could not find anything.
Not more than a minute after this sensation I experienced a very vague, outside myself feeling.
Everything and everyone around me were muted and blurred, like a bad reception on a television there was a constant "sssshhhh" noise. I felt a strange yet not all together unpleasant rush through my whole body and then I wasnt there, I was nowhere, no pain, no senses, no anything.
When I returned, from nowhere, everything was still and like a wierd dream. I recognised most of the people around me but couldnt place them. The surroundings I couldnt fathom at all and an overwhelming sense of fear and confusion made me panick and I tried to get up to run away from this strangeness. I had a sensation of being held down. The bodies around me seemed to be making inarticulate noises and I was petrified.
Slowly but surely I seemed to get back to myself. Everything started to come back into focus. Smells and noises started to make sense again and I realised I was in hospital but I didnt know why.
A doctor was rubbing my chest with her knuckle and piercing her thumb nail deep under my own thumb nail. Unless someone has done this too you, you will not believe how bloody painful this can be.
I shouted at her to "get the hell away from me!" and strangely this did not have the expected result. Instead of looking annoyed or surprised at my outburst she smiled and stroked my hair and spoke softly saying " hello gary. how are you feeling?" in a soothing and friendly manner.
I couldnt answer the questions about "who I am", "where I was", "what date it was" and the likes until nearly half an hour later when my senses returned fully.
This was my first seizure and the beggining of the rest of my life living with epilepsy.
We all had a busy day, tending to the herd, the horses and generally trying to catch up on the duties missed in the morning and we did our best to do some of the work for the next day. Amazingly we finished at 4 pm.
A couple of hours later and our taxi arrived to take us to our birthday party. Finally legal to have a "bevvy". We had been to pubs before, got drunk a few times, but it seemed like a milestone and it felt great not to worry about being asked for id.
On arrival we were astonished at the amount of friends and family that had taken the time to wish us the best and of course get at the free buffet and the free drinks at the bar. We are all Scottish after all.
Our proud Dad made a small but heart warming speach about how we were now men and that he was very proud of both of us and then he took us to the bar to order drinks. (he insisted that he be the first to buy this very first pint in a pub (little did he know)).
With our cold pints of 80%, eighty shilling (a scottish ale to anyone not familiar), we both mingled and welcomed our guests. This was going to be a great night.
The Band had arrived and were playing their first song when an amazing waft of sweet strawberries filled my senses, the smell was so strong that I could not concentrate on anything else.I looked around for the source but could not find anything.
Not more than a minute after this sensation I experienced a very vague, outside myself feeling.
Everything and everyone around me were muted and blurred, like a bad reception on a television there was a constant "sssshhhh" noise. I felt a strange yet not all together unpleasant rush through my whole body and then I wasnt there, I was nowhere, no pain, no senses, no anything.
When I returned, from nowhere, everything was still and like a wierd dream. I recognised most of the people around me but couldnt place them. The surroundings I couldnt fathom at all and an overwhelming sense of fear and confusion made me panick and I tried to get up to run away from this strangeness. I had a sensation of being held down. The bodies around me seemed to be making inarticulate noises and I was petrified.
Slowly but surely I seemed to get back to myself. Everything started to come back into focus. Smells and noises started to make sense again and I realised I was in hospital but I didnt know why.
A doctor was rubbing my chest with her knuckle and piercing her thumb nail deep under my own thumb nail. Unless someone has done this too you, you will not believe how bloody painful this can be.
I shouted at her to "get the hell away from me!" and strangely this did not have the expected result. Instead of looking annoyed or surprised at my outburst she smiled and stroked my hair and spoke softly saying " hello gary. how are you feeling?" in a soothing and friendly manner.
I couldnt answer the questions about "who I am", "where I was", "what date it was" and the likes until nearly half an hour later when my senses returned fully.
This was my first seizure and the beggining of the rest of my life living with epilepsy.
You can still achieve.............
Well, a slightly more serious blog than my other one and I hope that this blog will be of interest to sufferers, family and friends and to generally everyone!
I intend to try and inspire by posting a journal of my life with epilepsy, highlighting the ups and downs, what YOU can achieve and maybe even have a little giggle at the same time.
Cheers Gary
I intend to try and inspire by posting a journal of my life with epilepsy, highlighting the ups and downs, what YOU can achieve and maybe even have a little giggle at the same time.
Cheers Gary
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