Jessica Veach—Seizureless in Seattle
I checked into the hospital on July 11, 2012. During the first procedure they implanted EEG electrode probes in my brain. They then waited for me to have seizures. After eight days the doctors decided they had enough data and were confident that the focal point of my seizures was on my right temporal lobe. On July 19, 2012 I had my right temporal lobe removed.
I have a hole in my head
Casual conversation regarding epilepsy often begins with “when was your first one?” For me this is slightly difficult to explain. If the person is simply being polite, or if they are in a hurry, I will describe my first tonic clonic seizure. However, when I can tell that they truly wish to know about my situation, I will go into detail about the year leading up to my first seizure.
Stand Up to Epilepsy
Delaney Bjork is a vibrant, happy, fifteen year old girl–but she recently had to face a challenging medical diagnosis when she learned that she had epilepsy. After that, she also had to face bullying at school, both from students and teachers, as well as a host of challenges from medications. But today, Delaney has put most of her challenges behind her in order to become a stronger person.
Nathan Alexander: SEIZ ure LIFE
Nathan Alexander, of Knoxville, TN, is an athlete: he has always loved kayaking, swimming and hiking. But after his first seizure in 2009 he worried that he might have to give up sports. Since then, he has discovered that the opposite is true: not only has he remained active, he has also begun new efforts to inspire others with seizures and to raise funding to cure epilepsy.
Kelley Sperry: Get Up Every Day
How many times in your life have you faced a physical or emotional challenge that demanded everything could give? Kelley Sperry faces that kind of a challenge every single day. Parry Romberg Syndrome has been wasting away tissue on half of her face and brain, causing intense migraine headaches, strokes and a severe seizure disorder.
Rolling Over Epilepsy
Sherry Dariotes has lived with epilepsy for more than thirty years, and even though two brain surgeries have impaired her balance, one of her favorite activities is riding her 3-wheeled Ice Trike. She knocks out a lot of miles too.
Steven Riss: Perseverance Against Epilepsy
Steven Riss sometimes can’t believe that it’s possible to simply get in a car and drive. That is because Steven has epilepsy. And he remembers well when he lost the freedom to drive at the beginning his senior year of high school.
A Thicker Skin
In September of 2009, Seize the World interviewed Deanna Adams just after she completed the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race (GDMBR). Deanna is a vegan athlete from Prescott, Arizona. She also has Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy and suffers from Grand Mal seizures. However, this did not stop her from becoming the youngest woman to complete the race on a fixed gear bicycle or “fixie” at age 20.
Chelsea’s Legacy
Julie and Doug Hutchison lost their sixteen–year–old daughter Chelsea on April 19, 2009. She passed away after a seizure in her sleep. Sudden Unexpected Death In Epilepsy, or “SUDEP” affects roughly 1 in 1000 people with epilepsy—1 in 100 with uncontrolled seizures. Chelsea’s story emphasizes the urgency and importance of finding cures for epilepsy. And it also reveals how an amazing family can rise to face epilepsy’s most awful challenge.
Paying It Forward
Tina White is a 36-year-old mother of two living in Denver, Colorado. Tina also has epilepsy and suffers from tonic-clonic (grand mal) and complex partial seizures. Epilepsy has been a huge hurdle, but Tina has overcome many challenges with help from a generous community that includes her family and her friends as well as a chocolate lab named Jersey who is a trained epilepsy alert dog. She has also helped herself through her own perseverance and acceptance.