I discovered that I had epilepsy when I was out to lunch with my best friend. We thought I had a stroke, but my doctor said that it was a seizure. I’ve had it since 2015. My seizures come from my right frontal lobe. I started taking a lot of medication and was taking so much medication that I struggled with memory and speech.
I’m a graduate professor and my teaching method is giving my lectures by video and class time is discussion. I was recording a school law lecture one day and my speech kept getting messed up, so I kept hitting the delete button and starting over. I finally gave up recording the lecture and decided to try recording it later. I found the one-off messed up lectures on my computer and realized how ridiculous it sounded. I decided not to delete it. The next time I saw my epileptologist, I casually told him the story. I could tell that he was excited about something but, I wasn’t sure what. He asked me if I could send him a copy of the recorded lecture that was so messed up and one that I was able to use.
The office later contacted me and asked me to come in. They told me that my lectures were a gold mine! What? Are you kidding? I learned that I had proof that I would qualify for an RNS. I had surgery and an RNS was implanted in my brain. The RNS is helpful, and it is interesting to see when I’m having seizures. I am going to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and having the RNS adjusted to the “hot spot” every 3 months.
In my last 3 months, I only had 1 seizure. YEAH! The RNS is rather fascinating, and I enjoy reading scientific journals (bibliographies only) to see what possibilities are on the horizon for help. I am writing this from a positive point of view because there is a lot that can be done to help those of us with epilepsy. Stay positive. A cure for epilepsy would mean I would have better memory and speech. Teaching would be so much easier for me with a cure.
A cure would mean so many of us would no longer suffer! A cure is in reach as long as the research continues. It’s worth the fight!