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STORIES: John's Story / Glenn's Story / Gabrielle's Story
Epilepsy can strike at any time in a person’s life…for me that time was age 4.
Hello, My name is Leah Pursell, I’m 23 years old and have been living with epilepsy all of my life.
When I was 4, my parents started noticing me staring off into space…like I was daydreaming. I would be talking or eating, then all of the sudden I would stop in the middle of whatever I was doing for a few seconds then pick right back up where I left off. They soon realized that this wasn’t normal. So, they took me to see my pediatrician…who referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist ran a series of tests and determined I was having petit mal seizures (non-convulsive seizures) or “spells”. I was put on medicine to somewhat” control the spells.
When I was 12, I had my 1st, but not last Grand mal seizure (the kind where you convulse). After that, I went to the doctor and they did more tests and I was put on a medicine that kept them under control!!! Of course…that is…if I took my medicine right!!! In high school it was really hard…because all I wanted to do was be a part of everything that was going on. I wanted to hang out with my friends and stay up late…you know the usual high school stuff.
I was and still am a VERY stubborn person. I don’t like having to depend on anything or anyone. I especially didn’t like having a “disorder” that prevented me from doing the stuff that I enjoy…so I would skip my medicine because I didn’t want to be dependent on it and I wouldn’t listen to doctors or my parents. I had several seizures throughout high school. When I went to college, I realized a little more about how important taking my medicine and getting enough sleep was. I made it through college with just a few seizures!!! YAY!!! When I was a senior in college I thought it would be a “good idea” to switch my medicine. Boy was I wrong!!! I wanted a safer medicine so I could have children. I went through several medicines, but none worked as well as the one I was taking. I was allergic to one, another didn’t work, another worked a little…then it happened. In December 2005, I had “status epileptus”…a continuous series of seizures. And once again I was back to square one. I had more tests run on me, and I got put back on my original medication. I’m happy to be back on my original medication. I finally feel safe again. And turns out this medicine is fine to be on while having kids…it’s safer than being on a medicine that doesn’t work.
Now I have finally reached a point in my life where I realize just how important it is to do what is right for me!!! I still hang out with my friends and stay up late, but I watch what I do. If I want to stay out late, I have to know that I have a place to stay and get a good nights rest and that I can sleep in the morning. I make sure I take my medicine every day and I even take it at the same time everyday. I listen to my doctors and even my parents “sometime”. I can still have a fun and normal life…and so can you!!! Growing up was fine, but I didn’t really have anyone that I could talk to that would understand me….that is why I am so happy to have found an organization like PEACE. Hopefully I can be THAT person that kids can talk to about what they are dealing with. And maybe I can help parents understand their children…since kids cannot really express what is going on with them. I have always thought that if I had an older person around that was going through what I was; I would have listened to him. I probably would’ve taken my medicine and been a little safer.
PEACE stands for Parents Educating Arkansas about Children with Epilepsy. Our goal is to educate all Arkansans about this disorder which affects around 2.7 million people nationwide. We want people to feel safe about this disorder and be able to understand what it is and how to help deal with it. We hope to be a shoulder to lean on for families. We want to be able to give proper information to others…answer questions that some people may have but haven’t been answered. But mainly:
We want to Educate Arkansas about Children with Epilepsy.
Thank you!
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Leah Pursell |