Hello everyone! My name is Jason Raether, and I am 1 in 26. I am a father of 5 and have been a nurse for 25 years. I live in Sioux Falls, SD.
In the fall of 2010, I was having a discussion with my wife and suddenly everything in the room looked gold, and I went face down on our bed. She thought at first I was just acting like my silly self, but as it continued, she knew something was wrong. She had just witnessed me having a grand mal seizure. I don’t remember anything more that night.
The next day I was telling my story to a provider at my clinic. She stated that I probably had a seizure and that I would have tests starting the following Monday.
On Monday morning, I started with an MRI. I was told immediately that it was normal. I was relieved. No tumor. Then it was time for my EEG. When it was time to take a nap, there was only the EEG tech at her monitors. When I woke, there was the EEG tech and several students. As a nurse, I knew what that meant… hey everyone, come look at this since it is abnormal. Later that day, I heard from neurology and was started on medication.
In just a few short and stressful days, my life and all around me was flipped upside down. As a father of five kids 9 and under, and with a current job that required driving, all of this caused massive change. Luckily, I had a lot of support in all areas as I managed my health, medication changes, changes in my career role, and just needing rides.
In May of 2011, I was able to drive again. Things seemed all under control, and the world was great. Until (of course there would be an “until”) July of 2011. I had another witnessed grand mal seizure in my sleep. My providers at Sanford Hospital suggested transferring my care to MINCEP in Minneapolis. MINCEP explained that based on all my answers in assessments, my seizures had probably been around since I was a kid but were missed up until now. Now, everything for my seizures was being managed 4 hours away. Meds were added, and life changed again.
Over time, everything seemed to slowly get under control and managed well. I was so excited!!
In November 2015, the scariest part of all this happened. I have a period of 5 days that I have no memory of. This was followed by a long hospitalization. This was one of the scariest times for me ever, but also a turning point. This was my wake-up that meds alone were not going to solve this. I needed to watch all parts of my health and well-being, and I even made career changes to help better manage my stress and overall lifestyle.
It is now 2025, and I am proud to say that I am extremely well managed by medications and through great care that occurred at MINCEP and still occurs at Sanford Hospital. My support continues and sometimes even sneaks up on me and tackles me.
I am a lucky one. Medications and proper care have helped me keep my seizures in check. My obstacles made me stronger. I understand that at any time, this could change. It takes time to work through all of this, and my adventure in it all is nowhere near as extreme as others. For me, now that it is controlled and I am in a good spot with it all, it is my time to tell my story and hopefully help others.
This is the start.