Our Journey with Epilepsy
Epilepsy entered our life just over six years ago when my son, Axl, had a tonic clonic (grand mal) seizure in his sleep. It was early Friday morning, on Labor Day weekend and six-year old Axl had climbed into our bed at some point in the night. I woke up suddenly to feel his small body shaking violently alongside me. I flipped on the light and knew it had to be a seizure, although I'd never before seen someone have a seizure. He was grinding his teeth, making a strange guttural sound in his throat that I've never heard him make. His eyes were shut but his lids were flickering and his whole body was jerking rigidly. While I explained to the 911 operator what was happening, I thought I was losing him. At the time, I didn't know you could actually die from a seizure but I didn't know what was happening or when it would stop. It was so painful to watch my child seize and I felt utterly helpless. By the time the EMT's had carried him down to the ambulance, he was slow...