I just watched something horrifying on A Current Affair. It was a clip of a man in Katoomba who had a seizure on a train platform who came so close to being hit by a train, that he was dubbed 'The Luckiest Man Alive'.
This was until he admitted that he didn't always take his medication as diligently as he should.
He wasn't lucky - he was stupid.
Stupid for skipping his medication because he felt good that day.
Stupid for taking off on a day where he'd be around a place which could trigger a seizure (some people are photo-sensitive and a train passing in either direction can trigger a seizure - or his iPhone could have done it too).
Stupid for not taking notice of any signs - if he had any warning signals at all (which weren't discussed in the program).
Before any of you jump on the comments thing below and start screaming at me about what a horrible person I am for telling off a poor guy with a medical condition, I'll let you in on something: I have Epilepsy. I was born with it. My medical condition is genetic. I have been battling with my Epilepsy for a long time; and finally in 2004 it became stablised.
It only took 3 neurologists, a trip to Melbourne for tests for the operation (which I couldn't have) and a number of medications to find out which ones I was allowed to have and a good watch on my diet, sleeping patterns (and that some nights I don't sleep) and good family support to help me get through it. And yeah, I've hurt myself plenty through having Grand Mal seizures too... not a pleasant sight those ones. But I've never - ever - in my life, tried to skip out on my medications.
They are administered by my neurologist to keep me alive. They are to keep me working properly. They are so I don't kill off 10,000 brain cells each time I take a damned seizure.
And what happens to some of those idiots who think that they feel okay for a day or two because they haven't taken a seizure? They skip their medication and think they are 'cured'.
NEWSFLASH! THERE'S NO CURE FOR EPILEPSY!
Yes, this has pissed me off to no end. This has caused me to put up this rant because I've seen way too many people have seizures because they think they're okay when they're not.
And you know something? I've had enough!
The first time I saw somebody in denial, I was living Auchenflower. The woman was around 50 and she just fell over in the street and took a seizure in public. She was trying really hard to hide her Epilepsy from her children... how stupid can you get? Hiding it from family isn't going to make it go away.
The second time I saw somebody with Epilepsy and they didn't want it was a neighbour who was on the same medication as me and she ignored the fact that she had to take her medication and that she was allergic to cold & flu tablets. So, one night her Dad showed up at my door saying his daughter was sick and showed me what she taking (as he didn't know we were allergic to). I advised him to rush her to a hospital before she really got sick. He did, and she was there for a week... her neurlogist found out she wasn't taking enough of her medication and began to make a few house calls to make sure she took them.
Then, there was an old friend of mine who has had the condition as long as I have. She took herself off her medication without consulting her doctors... I reported her to all the neurologists I knew; as I also knew she had a motorcycle license (something I knew we weren't allowed to have) and then her parents who dropped in her on her and found she didn't have a drop of her medications in the house... they took her to the neurologist and told her to get back on her medication; that she can't cure herself and it was good that somebody was good enough to report her. She's never spoken to me again. But at least she's alive.
Medication helps you people... it stops SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death of Epilepsy Patients) and it stops you losing brain cells. Sure it's inconvenient... yes, it can be a dealbreaker if you're looking for a partner (but you gotta remember they have the immaturity problem, not you). But if you want to live, stay on your medications - and don't be a damned fool!
This was until he admitted that he didn't always take his medication as diligently as he should.
He wasn't lucky - he was stupid.
Stupid for skipping his medication because he felt good that day.
Stupid for taking off on a day where he'd be around a place which could trigger a seizure (some people are photo-sensitive and a train passing in either direction can trigger a seizure - or his iPhone could have done it too).
Stupid for not taking notice of any signs - if he had any warning signals at all (which weren't discussed in the program).
Before any of you jump on the comments thing below and start screaming at me about what a horrible person I am for telling off a poor guy with a medical condition, I'll let you in on something: I have Epilepsy. I was born with it. My medical condition is genetic. I have been battling with my Epilepsy for a long time; and finally in 2004 it became stablised.
It only took 3 neurologists, a trip to Melbourne for tests for the operation (which I couldn't have) and a number of medications to find out which ones I was allowed to have and a good watch on my diet, sleeping patterns (and that some nights I don't sleep) and good family support to help me get through it. And yeah, I've hurt myself plenty through having Grand Mal seizures too... not a pleasant sight those ones. But I've never - ever - in my life, tried to skip out on my medications.
They are administered by my neurologist to keep me alive. They are to keep me working properly. They are so I don't kill off 10,000 brain cells each time I take a damned seizure.
And what happens to some of those idiots who think that they feel okay for a day or two because they haven't taken a seizure? They skip their medication and think they are 'cured'.
NEWSFLASH! THERE'S NO CURE FOR EPILEPSY!
Yes, this has pissed me off to no end. This has caused me to put up this rant because I've seen way too many people have seizures because they think they're okay when they're not.
And you know something? I've had enough!
The first time I saw somebody in denial, I was living Auchenflower. The woman was around 50 and she just fell over in the street and took a seizure in public. She was trying really hard to hide her Epilepsy from her children... how stupid can you get? Hiding it from family isn't going to make it go away.
The second time I saw somebody with Epilepsy and they didn't want it was a neighbour who was on the same medication as me and she ignored the fact that she had to take her medication and that she was allergic to cold & flu tablets. So, one night her Dad showed up at my door saying his daughter was sick and showed me what she taking (as he didn't know we were allergic to). I advised him to rush her to a hospital before she really got sick. He did, and she was there for a week... her neurlogist found out she wasn't taking enough of her medication and began to make a few house calls to make sure she took them.
Then, there was an old friend of mine who has had the condition as long as I have. She took herself off her medication without consulting her doctors... I reported her to all the neurologists I knew; as I also knew she had a motorcycle license (something I knew we weren't allowed to have) and then her parents who dropped in her on her and found she didn't have a drop of her medications in the house... they took her to the neurologist and told her to get back on her medication; that she can't cure herself and it was good that somebody was good enough to report her. She's never spoken to me again. But at least she's alive.
Medication helps you people... it stops SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death of Epilepsy Patients) and it stops you losing brain cells. Sure it's inconvenient... yes, it can be a dealbreaker if you're looking for a partner (but you gotta remember they have the immaturity problem, not you). But if you want to live, stay on your medications - and don't be a damned fool!
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