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Keep Calm!

I can't believe it happened again. I saw a Facebook post asking if it's necessary to put something in someone's mouth when they're having a seizure. No! No! No! Do not put anything in their mouth and do not attempt to restrain the person.

 Do:

  • Stay calm
  • Time the seizure
  • Loosen anything tight around the person's neck
  • Keep the person safe until the seizure is over
  • Clear the area of glass or anything that might hurt them
  • Do not restrain the person
  • Remember, most seizures last 30 seconds to two minutes
  • If the seizure lasts more than five minutes, call 911
  • If the seizure ends and a new one starts, call 911
  • When the seizure ends, turn the person on their side
  • Stay with them, they may be disoriented or confused 

I'm so thankful to those in the past who witnessed my son having a seizure and who knew what to do, like the TTC driver who refused to leave his side, the kind neighbours and the unknown strangers who have called 911 and stayed with him until help arrived. I wish everyone knew what to do. I hope we're long past the days when books and movies would portray someone with epilepsy having a popsicle stick shoved in their throat in a misguided attempt to make sure the person didn't swallow their tongue. It is physically impossible to swallow your tongue!

 I recently read a book by a well-known author who had one of her main characters, a lawyer whose seizures were so bad he used an epilepsy guide dog, drive a car shortly after having a horrific seizure. Any lawyer, anywhere, would know that if you have uncontrolled seizures, you can't drive a car. In some jurisdictions you must be six months seizure-free. In others it can be one or two years seizure-free before being able to drive.

 Okay, now that I've cleared that up, it's time for me to start reading. Here's my summer book list and it doesn't even include the book I'm supposed to read for my September Book Club meeting, Scarborough, by Catherine Hernandez. More about all these books real soon.

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