WHEN HAVING A SEIZURE LOCATION IS EVERYTHING or LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

If you are going to have a seizure, “where” you have it matters. It could mean the difference between a seizure that ruins your day and a seizure that allows you to move on and forget about it.

Of course, I don’t mean forget about it completely.  When I have a seizure, I always feel like shit for the rest of the day.  I have those moments where I think about how long it has been since the last seizure.  I think about whether or not I should go and see the neurologist.  But I don’t spend hours thinking about it — provided I had the seizure in the right place.

What’s “the right place” you ask? The answer is:  Alone.

If I have a seizure in my own bedroom or living room, I can pretty much move on with my day.  No one saw it and hopefully very little happened.  My house is, of course, set up for this sort of stuff.  It has good carpeting.  It has soft stuff to fall on.  I don’t have to talk to people afterwards.  When I walk out the door it is just like walking out the door if I haven’t had a seizure.  No one has anything to say to me that is different from what they say any other day.  That’s the secret.  I just move on with my life.

But if I have a seizure in public, say in a restaurant, there are people.  There is the possibility of medical people being called.  There is the embarrassment.  More than likely, I won’t ever want to go into that place again and deal with the inevitable stares.  I’d hate to walk in there the next day and hear people whispering,  “That’s the guy.  Last time he was in here he was flopping around in the corner.  You should have been here.”

Have it in your favorite restaurant or bar and you are screwed.  Find a new one.

Having a seizure at work is the worst.  It’s not like you can choose not to go back.   You have to get up and go back to work.  You have to go back the next day.  And you have to have the awkward moment with each and every person you work with who tries to come up with something nice to say.  “I was here yesterday when you had your…thing.”  “Yeah – I was here, too.”

You have to appreciate that they are also in an awkward position.  Most of them want to be nice.  They want to say something to ease the tension that now exists between you.  But really – what IS there to say?  “Nice seizure?”

But they have, more than likely, never seen one.  They feel the need to say something.  And you have to let them.

“I didn’t know what to do.”

You did fine.

“Are you OK?”

Yup.

“What should I do next time?”

Nothing.  Seriously – I’m fine.

Location, location, location.  It’s always better when they happen at home.  At home you can sit up and hope that this is the one for the month or the year or forever.