I am a schoolteacher. I work with students with special needs. One year, I had a seizure in class, when I was teaching middle school. Unbeknownst to me, there was a student in the room who also had seizures. She wasn't a child that stood out. Very quiet. Easy to miss. Shy. All I remember was a big pair of brown eyes peering over the shoulders of the paramedics, with a look of worry. I smiled...and then cracked a joke with the paramedic. Something along the lines of "We've gotta quit meeting like this. " I remembered that he had responded when I had a seizure the previous school year. We laughed, and waited for my hubby to show up and take me home. The next day, when I was back at work and the kids asked if I was okay, I told them yes, and smiled, and explained what epilepsy is. The little girl with big brown eyes just sat in the back of the room, really quiet, while kids all around the class asked me questions. They asked about my medical bracelet, what to do if I had one, if it hurt. And some of the kids had been scared because I had bitten my tongue and it bled a little. Two days later, I got a call from the mother of the little girl with big brown eyes. She called to say thank you. Her daughter has epilepsy, and had been intentionally not taking her meds, and didn't want to wear a bracelet. Following my question and answer time with the kids, the little girl had gone home and put on her bracelet and told her mom that she'd go ahead and take her medicine. We don't always know who we will touch when we answer questions about seizures. But if we can make life more comfortable for even one more person with E....well then....what more can we hope for?
