Seizures

I heard the unfortunate news that a friend of mine had a seizure the other day. It's also unfortunate that I've had my share of seizures in my day. The first one I remember was back when I was 6-years old. I guess I had them before that, but I can't remember any of those.

It was bizarre talking to my friend after she had her seizure, because no one truly understands what you're talking about if they've never had a seizure before. It's not like stubbing a toe, getting a cold, or being reject by someone or something. We've all gone through those and know what they feel like. If I stub my toe in front of someone, they notice it, and say, "Gosh, I hate it when that happens," then, they're probably being honest. They probably do know what it feels like, so they can relate. But, seizures are a different ball game entirely.

It's so difficult to describe seizures, even to doctors. The descriptions and details are so vague, that some may secretly think that they know what they may feel like, but in actuality, they haven't the slightest idea. My neurologist asked me to describe them one time and I couldn't come up with the right words. He then asked, "Is it a funny sensation? Do you feel an odd funny sensation in your head?" I replied with a yes. He asked, "Do you feel an odd sensation in your stomach?" Again, I responded with a yes. But, that vague description tells little to nothing about what a seizure feels like. To say that it's an odd sensation in the head and stomach is like saying a heart attack is a sensation in the chest. One has no idea what it feels like unless they've gone through it.

A seizure feel like an out-of-body experience. One is motionless when they're having a seizure (unless it's a grand mal). They're unable to respond to another. It's like being in a temporary paralytic vegetable state. It's a very frightening, isolating feeling. One wants to yell or cry for help, but they're unable to. It's 30 seconds to two minutes that seem to last for a couple hours. Time stands still. You can hear noise in the background, but can't make out what's being said. After a little while, one snaps out of their seizure and if it's their first in a while, it takes a few hours to fully recover. For those few hours, they'll be less focused, have more difficulty in speaking and typing than usual, will feel out-of-it, and fatigued.

While there is no truly accurate way to describe seizures, that's about the best I can do. For those who've gone through them, they'll nod rapidly, knowing exactly what I'm talking about, but for those who've been fortunate enough to never have gone through a seizure, they still won't have the slightest idea of what one feels like. I hope that the majority don't ever have to endure a seizure, because it's one of the most frightening and helpless feelings one can experience.