It was a late July day and I was wrapping up my time at a Transition conference. I had just given a speech about disability awareness and went to sit down and listen to others presentations before we had to say good bye.
When I sat down, I got prepared to listen to the next presentation. As I sat there and listened, I started thinking about other stuff that was on my mind. I wasn't fully tuned into the presentation like i was supposed to be. I remember sitting there and almost starting to day dream or go into deep thought. It was a deep thought that I couldn't get out of and it scared me.
As soon as I noticed something was wrong, I got up and walked across the room to a young woman in a bright orange sweatshirt. Unbeknownst to me, I told this woman that I was having an anxiety attack and that I needed to take a walk. She got up and took me for a walk to help calm me down since I was really confused. I didn't know where I was or what I was doing.
When the girl in the orange sweatshirt took me on a walk, we ran into a family friend of mine. Her name was Cindy. Cindy recognized that I was having trouble and came to help me. I also told her that I thought I was having an anxiety attack. Cindy tried to calm me down to no avail. She decided it would be a good idea to call my mom to come get me early. It wouldn't hurt to get me early since there were only 15 minutes left to the conference.
We finally got a hold of my mom and let her know what had happened. She said that she would be right there since she was only a five minute drive away. She rushed in and got me to take me home so I could relax
When my mom picked me up from the conference, she had planned on taking me to Honeybaked ham, one of my favorite fast food restaurants for lunch. When she found out I had the episode, she decided she would still see if I wanted to go. I decided I wanted to go because I thought it would cheer me up and get my mind off of what just happened. I thought it would distract me.
When we got home from Honeybaked Ham, my mom called the doctor to document what happened and to see if she should do anything. The doctor told my mom that I had to go to the emergency room. I posted on facebook that I was headed there and I asked for prayers.
going to the ER right now!!! Prayers please, more later!!! :(
When I posted on facebook that I need prayers, my friend Michelle who came in from out of town out saw it. It just so happened that she was coming up to visit us later that evening. When she saw this she was shocked that I was in the emergency room and asked if we still wanted her company. Without a doubt we said yes. She came up to our house later and waited for us to come home.
When my mom and I were in the waiting room of the emergency department, we were told by the nurses that I had to have a fall risk bracelet on in case I had another seizure I knew I wasn't going to have another one of these seizures again, because I have had them several times before. I never have more than one in a row. This was the first time my doctor wanted me to see an emergency room doctor. They told me it was just precautionary.
When we arrived home from the emergency room, we brought a pizza home for dinner too. It was really yummy since I hadn't had food since lunch time. It was 8:30 by the time we got home.
I had to be sleep deprived for a diagnostic test so my friend Emma invited me over to her place to make Christmas cookies and hang out so my parents could get some sleep. Every year since we were young children, our families would get together for Christmas Eve. We have dinner, decorate cookies and exchange gifts. Emma had been in France the previous Christmas and she wanted to make up for the cookie decorating we missed.
When I had my follow up appointment with my neurologist to go over the results of the diagnostic testing, he told me that it was more likely than not that I had epilepsy. He suggested I get a medical alert bracelet so I can be more independent on campus. He was worried that I would have a seizure in class or while I was crossing a road
Another thing we had discussed with the neurologist was my ability to drive. He told me that as long as I was on medicine and didn't have a seizure for at least six months, he would let me drive. My dad makes signs and decided to make these magnets to put on the back of our car. He thought it would help us stay safe
Our friends that had visited the same weekend I had the seizure could tell I wasn't myself. I was really tired. I also had some problems with my speech and memory that have now resolved themselves. They were part of the post-ictal state of my seizure. This means that it was the side affects I get after a seizure that make you feel yucky. Since my friend saw this she decided to sent me a get well soon card a couple days later. It made me feel really happy during this really rough time
No comments:
Post a Comment