Epilepsy
Ever seen someone having a major epileptic fit?
We witnessed our son having one…
His body rigid, yet jerking and shaking uncontrollably. His face contorted with pain, unintelligible noises and froth emanating from his mouth. Oblivious and unresponsive to our urgent calls, his lower jaw grinding away on tongue and other tissue, froth turning red.
Enough time passes to call tripple zero, explain our desperate need for help, try to calm him, stop his churning jaw, comfort him; an eternity passes. Finally, the jerking subsides, some form of consciousness returns. Confused, in obvious distress, he slowly recovers his senses.
We tell him who he is, who we are. He nods and softly sobs, utterly exhausted. The convulsion having sapped every ounce of energy. Lactic acid, released by his muscles to drain even his flight or fight reserve energy, burns every fibre in his body.
His tongue a mangled mess, he slowly comprehends his predicament. He’s been here before! Dreading it ever since. Dreading weeks of muscle pain, agonising headaches, mouth and tongue tissue healing slowly, days of painful swallowing. The prospect of more and stronger medication, most with one side effect in common: debilitating depression. As if he wasn’t depressed enough!
Living in fear of yet another attack. His cognitive and administrative functions impaired by a cocktail of daily drugs. Working in his old profession no longer an option, his marriage, his hopes, his life on the way to nowhere!
Yet, he soldiers on. Refusing to let go of his dreams and aspirations, his sexuality and his sense of humanity. He has a son, a partner, family, friends and a slowly returning believe in a brighter future.