looking for a job

[greenboy]

I met Carlos when I was 7 years old and he was 6, now I am 50. Three years ago he started behaving weird, he got abusive with his Girlfriend and finally he got a seizure in the middle of the street. The head CT scan showed two tumors the size of a grapefruit, he got a long surgery and they removed them, but he is having seizures controlled by medications. His girlfriend left him because he turned so abusive, he has no friends but his elderly mother, he is living right now in Miami and I am in Pennsylvania, he doesn't have a job, and he is living in an assisted living building, he never goes out and he is in a very sad mood all the time. I wonder what to do for him. How should I help? I think he needs a job but what he could do? he have random seizures. And I hope somebody here could give me ideas in how to get a job or something to help him to get out of that apartment, his mother is the only contact with the world and the TV (which I think is not a good thing for an epileptic person) Please help. He is my oldest friend and he treat everybody harshly.

[skillefer]

Well, as much as you may want to help him, this is something that he needs to muck through himself. I would agree that he needs a job. But it sounds as though he's also going through some depression. If he is physically able to work, perhaps he needs to start by doing some volunteer work. By taking his mind off of himself, it might also help relieve any depression he might be suffering from. I would suggest maybe donating a couple of hours a week at a local animal shelter. Dogs and cats are fairly intuitive, and, just speaking from my experience, have been protective of me whenever I had a seizure around them. Also, they won't judge him because of the seizures or be freaked out by it. Just a suggestion. If he's living in an assisted living facility, that may indicate that he does have reasons why he may not be able to hold down a job. In which case, maybe he needs to find an interest.....a hobby....something that he can take an interest in....photography, painting, books, ....all of these would allow him to interact with others. Hope this helps.

[speber]

Sorry your friend has it so rough. On the bright side, whether or not he knows it, he has a good friend in you!

I think skillefer hit the nail on the head...working around those that wouldn't mind your affliction so much is a good route to go.

Peace
Speber

[Bernard]

Hi greenboy, welcome to the forum.

Carlos is lucky to have a friend like you.

Maybe you will find some ideas in here: Good jobs for people with epilepsy

BTW, do you know which anti-epileptic drugs he is taking? Keppra in particular is infamous for "Kepprage", though most anti-epileptic drugs can have depression or moodiness as a side effect. If he is taking Keppra, he might try taking a vitamin B6 supplement to help counter the moodiness side effect.

[greenboy]

Thank you guys for answering my question I think I am going to start talking to him more often, to see what happens, I think he is not computer oriented, and I maybe going to convince him to get a computer, I don't know if he can afford one. Let see what I can do... Thank you again

[RobinN]

I think there might be some services that would provide one. Others might be able to help with this thought.

[Wally]

Sorry for the late reply to an old post. My hard drive died and I lost everything. I'm just getting caught up again.
Just be a good friend (as you allready have been) to him. Last year when I was first diagnosed I couldn't drive for 6 months (WA law). We live about 8 miles out of town, I couldn't work much and my wife was working more hours. I started to feel like one of those guys in Guantanamo. Thankfully, I didn't have to wear an orange jumpsuit. I had some good friends that would come get me out of the house and try to regain my sanity. Whenever I would talk to people that I used to worked with or one of our neighbors, they always had to ask 20 questions about my medical problems. Of course that was the last thing I wanted to discuss. With my friends however we could just talk about normal stuff and forget about my troubles. I'd do anything for those guys.