Epilepsy
Epilepsy finds a way to affect every one of us. Epilepsy is a neurologic disorder, defined by seizures. Whether we have to live with the condition, or we know others that do, we are all impacted. There are many different causes of epilepsy such as infections, mutated genes, and drug or alcohol abuse. 50 million people worldwide have some case of epilepsy. Many are diagnosed to have epilepsy when they are an infant, though the disorder does fade away as they grow older. Others are not as fortunate. In fact 30 % of epileptics cannot control their seizures with medication. Some people do not even receive medication, as they are proclaimed possessed. My Grandmother was one of those people. Her name was Ozra Sharafzadeh. And this, unfortunately, is her story.
It’s like waking up from a dream. All you want to do is go back to bed again. You feel very dizzy and moody. The only real difference is no one cares to say, “Good morning.” We all act as if nothing happened, but we all know. I had another seizure, I lost consciousness. I don’t remember what I was doing before, or what time it was but now its dark outside. I slowly stumble to the kitchen and my head hurts again. As I reach for a glass I collapse onto the counter. The door opens, and my husband Ali Akbar is now home. He takes his time before bringing me to my feet, and then walks away. It feels like I’ve become a burden, and I simply hate it.
It seems as if night time is the only time I don’t want to sleep. Can you imagine how scary it is not remember a large portion of an entire week? It’s utterly terrifying. I’m always panicking about my next seizure. I can’t control when they happen, I never have. Today my husband looked at me and said, “Something’s wrong.” Those words are bitter sweet, and yet I’m almost excited. Maybe finally, it’s time to fix things. The seizures are getting worse, and more powerful. My anxiety is starting to take over. I keep wondering if my next seizure will be my very last.
It’s a bright and sunny day, my son Ali-Reza is outside with his friends. My husband Akbar comes home early, and with him he brought the local Reverend. “We think we know the problem,” said Akbar. He was across the room, it didn’t seem like he wanted to move any closer, he’s was scared. Then both of them try to explain to me that, I’m not sick, but that I’m simply possessed. So I lay down, flat on the floor. They start by throwing water onto my face. This is the part I wake up…right? Nothing happens; the Reverend goes home and tells Akbar to watch over me, in case. I look outside the window and see my son playing football with his friends. Fortunately, he is too young to understand.
My Grandmother died when my father was 7. She was 36 years old. You may all read this and think it’s over exaggerated, but it’s not. You have to keep in mind that this story took place around 50 years ago in Iran. No one seemed to believe or even know what epilepsy was.Even today we our brightest scientists have trouble finding their way around the concept. There is no known cure for epilepsy, only a few ways to control the seizures. 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy. Of those people 90 % live in developing countries, and 30 % of conditions cannot be controlled with medication. What are these people meant to do? An alternate option is a risky surgery directly to the brain tissue. I’m not certain everyone would financially be able to do that. I wonder about this story sometimes. If my grandmother received medication for her condition, would she still be alive. She suffered from Tonic-clonic seizures, a very dangerous Generalized Epilepsy. We are all one way or another impacted by this condition. I never got to meet my Grandmother; in fact I knew virtually nothing about her before this. I’m glad her story’s been told.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001714
http://137.172.248.46/epilepsy.htmhttp://www.epilepsy.ca/eng/content/sheet.html
http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/brain_nervous/epilepsy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilepsy
Excellent expression
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