This is what it is...

Anybody up for an ala-CSI lesson? Well great. Pretend I'm Katherine. I like Katherine. Though, no, think there is no murder or body, just an explanation. Alright? Alright.

Epilepsy is a
condition in which people have seizures or 'epileptic attacks'.
There are many different types of attacks, ranging from minor
symptoms noticed only by the affected person, to convulsions, the most easily
recognised type of epileptic attack.




Important facts about the attacks are:

• 
  where in the brain they start
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  how they spread
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  how much of the brain is affected.
  
  
  
  
  

Is it possible to divide the attacks into groups?





Sure. There are the Partial Attacks that start in a specific part of the white matter
of the brain (cerebral cortex). The starting point of the abnormal electrical
activity is called the 'focus'. During attacks, they can either stay
there, spread to the surrounding areas or eventually spread to involve the
whole brain. It is most important to determine the very first symptoms of
an attack, as this will indicate where the focus is.

There are the Simple partial attacks that are characterised by the sufferer being alert, awake and
knowing what is going on. These types of attacks are often called auras, especially when they progress to more severe
attacks.

It is an advantage for the person to be able to communicate
with those around them during the attack and, for instance, be able to tell
people that the attack is not dangerous and that it will stop by itself.

 
The Complex partial attacks are when the person loses awareness and is,
therefore, unable to communicate or remember what happened. It is often
preceded by a simple partial attack. Because awareness is lost the person may stare into space or
do automatic things like make chewing or lip-smacking movements, pick at
clothing or nearby objects or get up and wander around in a confused manner.
Attacks typically last a few minutes

And of course there are the secondary generalized attacks. When the attack spreads to involve the whole brain, the victim
will have what is called a secondary generalised tonic clonic seizure. This is
also known as a convulsion or grand mal attack.



Doctors currently prefer to use the term tonic clonic seizure
as it is descriptive of what happens during the attack: first the person goes
stiff (tonic) and then shakes (clonic).



Breathing may stop during the attack and the person's
skin may turn blue.



Shaking typically lasts one to two minutes, but can go on for
longer. When the shaking stops, it may be impossible to rouse the person for a
few minutes.



During attacks, people may be injured by falling to the floor.
They may bite their tongue or become incontinent.



During a tonic clonic seizure, it is important to remove all
sharp or heavy objects near the person, and to put them on his or her side in
the recovery position.


In fact, its was because of a Tonic-clonic seizure that I wasn't able to get any sleep last night. Yeap, it happened. About an hour after my brother and I's FREINDS marathon, I was woken up my my brother saying very loudly "DADDY!" and I got up and saw, well, the signs of the attack. Dammit, the one that scared me the most was the fact that we weren't able to prevent tongue bleeding... Dammit, I got up, turned our dad to his side. He was stiff, Goodness, was he stiff and wouldn't budge. I told my brother that I'd get the medicine downstairs and I ran like hell to the kitchen, but since we couldn't give him the medicine just yet, I just put it in the night stand. I grabbed the fan and aimed the air to my dad. My brother then took off to get a spoon from downstairs. We put it in his mouth, but, hello, his tongue was already bleeding at least it'll stop it from getting worse. I told my brother to get the cordless phone. But the stupid cordless, chose this very moment to piss me off. I grabbed my dad's cellphone and franticallly looked for the number of my grandmother's house. No one was answering so I called my aunt's cellphone instead. Yes, it worked and you wont believe my relief because that's when I started crying. She told me to calm down, that I was doing good so far. My dad still wouldn't stop shaking, but we were getting there. Then, what happened... my aunt said she'd call my uncle that lived nearest to us (in Libis), and so I hung up. My dad then stopped shaking, thank the Gracious Lord, and we got him to sit up. But he was so heavy and he was mumbling. I mean, he was saying words and he even talked in straight tagalog, but he just wasn't conscious about it. We got him to drink one medicine first and then another two when I was able to contact my mom. Yeah, I called my mom all the way in the States, in the middle of her lunch break. She said it was okay. Then the landline rang and it was my uncle. He talked to my dad. My dad was actually listening to what my uncle was saying (my uncle is his brother) and he was actually responding, I was beginning to think that maybe he was already conscious but then he said "eh, sino ba toh?" and that's when I saw my brother cry. And i've only ever seen my brother cry 1. when we were both very very little and 2. the first time we witnessed this attack three years ago and 3. when my mom left for the states. So, hello, really scared. Then we hung up but my dad wouldn't stop telling us to let him lie down. My aunt told us not to let him lie down so we had a hard time. The way our dad was talking to us, it was like he was really talking to us, but you know that its not reallly him, you know? Its like (and forgive me for saying this, Lord) talking to a mental patient in an asylum. They have no idea who you are and they keep begging to get some sleep. We turned on the TV and told him to watch, but how exactly do you tell and already unconscious person to watch TV?? So there, my uncle called and said he'd be coming over with my aunt. And they did. It was pretty fast too. I felt like one of those people in 911 who wait for the ambulance that just doesnt seem to want to come fast enough. They took care of my dad already while my brother and I talked to our mom on the phone. She told us she was proud that we had remembered all the stuff she told us to do if this had happened (which, doi, already did). My brother and I didn't stop crying right away. I guess we were too shaken up because we've never done this whole thing on our own. In the past, our mom was there and she took pretty good control. So, we felt alright. But doing this on our own... it was like preparing for a birth you know? Like, my brother and I knew that someday we would have to face this without our mom with us. And that was good, the preparation our mom taught us, because when it happened, although we were still scared, we knew what to do. So our adrenaline took over for the most part. When our aunt and uncle came, dude, I just had to get some sleep..I slept for at most 15 minutes, waking up every now and then. At around 4:20am my relatives left and told us to get some sleep. Our dad was already alright and sleeping. We apologized for waking them so early in the morning but they said it was alright and that we should call them anytime. So my brother and I went to bed, and I was so tired that the moment my eyes closed I was gone. But in the course of what was only 4 hours of sleep, my dad had 3 complex partial attacks I mentioned above. Those are the ones we see commonly and we just need to talk to him for him to relax. But so, yeah...now I have a headache and I just want to sleep...but I'm awake and my eyes wont close anymore (which is funny because my eyes are just like slits now).

Whew. I'm alright though. Prevention is the key. And I have to get my dad to see a doctor.
Smile, smile, smile. The bright side is that everything's alright now. Amen.