Seizures tagged posts

I’M EPILEPTIC AND I DRIVE

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To get social security (government assistance) as a seizure patient you must meet four requirements (1). For the purposes of this discussion, you only really need to be aware of two of them.

One: “We (the government) decide that you cannot adjust to other work because of your medical condition(s).” Also, in the case of grand mal seizures, you have to have more than one seizure a month (2) and/or petite mals must occur more than once a day (ibid).

A seizure patient will lose his or her right to drive after each and every seizure for six months to two years, depending on which state he or she lives in...

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NO JOKE: FORCED STERILIZATION ONCE USED TO STOP “THE PROPAGATION” OF EPILEPTICS

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Lewis Reynolds is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served his country for thirty years, fighting in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He has been married for 47 years and is 85 years old. He does not, however, have any children because he was forcibly and legally sterilized under Virginia’s Eugenical Sterilization Act (1).

Mr. Reynolds was not born epileptic. A rock hit him in the head when he was nine and he became a seizure patient. As a result, he was sterilized to stop “the propagation of their kind (2).” Sterilized, I might add, without his knowledge.

Virginia’s Eugenical Sterilization Act was passed in 1924, making it legal to forcibly sterilize any “mental defective” for the “the welfare of society (3).” The law was cemented in the famous “Buck v...

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IT’S HARDER ON US THAN IT IS ON YOU

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I was recently banned from posting on Reddit. I am not sure exactly what I did to get banned (although it was insinuated that my blog about “Breast Cancer Month” did not go down well with some people.) Bear in mind, this is a website that is fond of holocaust deniers, sexists and racists. But me? I am not allowed to post anything there anymore. Not even a comment on someone else’s thread. Not even a simple “Hey that was great.” My emails to moderators go unanswered.

My website still seems to be relatively popular on Reddit — for an epilepsy website. As you might expect, epilepsy is not a particularly “big market.” But if you go to r/epilepsy, “FallingDownFunny” is the website that gets the most attention. But that doesn’t seem to matter to the folks who run Reddit...

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DON’T HAVE A SEIZURE IN MICHIGAN

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On March 23, 2004 in Michigan (1), Ms. R was driving home from visiting her daughter. She did not feel well. She had had two seizures that morning and another while visiting. While she probably should not have gotten behind the wheel of her car, it was only two miles to her house and she decided to drive home anyway.

At about 6:30 pm, Officer W saw her car swerve and he pulled around to pursue her. He signaled but she did not stop. He followed her for several blocks until she pulled over. As he approached her car, Ms. R suddenly drove away. Officer W got back into his car and followed her, this time joined by another police car. The two police cars boxed Ms. R in and her car was forced to stop.

The two officers from the second car approached the vehicle with guns drawn...

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SCREW “BREAST CANCER MONTH”

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizures Comments: 8 comments

Let me start by saying that breast cancer is a horrible disease and I feel badly for anyone who has it or gets it. I wrote that headline to get your attention. But I do have a reason for starting to turn on “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” and I know I am not alone.

I have epilepsy. I have been trying to promote epilepsy awareness for some time and it often feels like an uphill battle. Not only do people not really seem to care about epilepsy, but quite the opposite: many seem to have something against it.

I am not going to go into the recent story of Coach Jerry Kill, the University of Minnesota football coach who had a seizure during a game and was rewarded with calls for his removal...

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HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE EPILEPTIC?

Category: Amazon.comblogging about bloggingFalling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizures Comments: 2 comments

I am a stand-up comedian. It has been my full-time occupation since 1991. True, I am not rich or famous but I have paid my bills and eaten Taco Bell. I have made a reasonable living. And I know my way around a joke.

The point I am so slowly getting to here is that I have had a hard time writing jokes about epilepsy. The subject has eluded me. I’ve written jokes that I knew were pretty funny but when I tried them out onstage I could not figure out why they did not get any laughs. I reworked them. Nothing. It took me years to figure out why those jokes were not happening and when I finally figured out what the problem was I was not happy with the answer.

I have come up with two basic reasons why the subject is not a good choice for me onstage...

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DON’T MAKE ME LOOK AT JERRY KILL

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: 5 comments

Several people sent me articles last week about a seizure that University of Minnesota Football Coach Jerry Kill suffered while the Golden Gophers were playing Western Illinois University.  It was the third time he had suffered a seizure during a game as head coach of the program in three years.  As a result of that episode he missed the second half of that game after being taken to the hospital.

Usually I would not have paid all that much attention to this story.  First of all, I am not that much of a sports fan anymore.  I found the story interesting from the seizure angle, but then a person having a seizure only holds so much interest for me...

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COME OUT

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: 3 comments

I had a seizure around some people who don’t know me very well.  Naturally, they were incredibly uncomfortable around me for the next several days; trying to say things that were supportive or interesting or whatever.

A young woman walked up to me.  She was obviously nervous.  “So,” she said, “how was your seizure?”  The minute the words sunk into her head, and before I had a chance to say anything, she turned and walked away.

People have no idea how to deal with us.  Do you know whose fault that is?  Ours.  It has been easier for us to live in secret for as long as possible rather than let people know about us.  As a result, people do not understand who and what we are.  Those people who say stupid things to us usually mean well...

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LOST

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: 3 comments

I started jogging recently.

I should say that I started jogging “again.”  Years ago I ran but I had to stop because I started having seizures when I ran.  I guess I forgot that because when I started to run this time I started to have seizures again.

There are so many things in my life that I have given up because of seizures.  Things from my life that I once enjoyed or used that are no longer a part of my life.  Things that I avoid because they are now and forever associated with a seizure.

I am a big fan of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama.”  I had a particularly bad seizure while watching an episode of Futurama.  There was a musical number during that episode.  I have heard the song several times since then.  It totally triggers a memory of that seizure...

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FALSE ALARM

Category: Falling Down Funny BookMark HawkinsSeizuresUncategorized Comments: 3 comments

Every once in a while there is a moment when you think you “might” be having a seizure. But you are not.

I am not talking about the beginning of the seizure.  I am referring to that quick flash of panic that everyone has when you suddenly remember something:  You forgot to turn the oven off. You forgot to call your mother. It’s your wedding anniversary and you forgot to buy your wife a present.

There is a physical reaction where your body feels horrible all of a sudden.

For me, and many people have told me that they experience the same thing, the beginning of a seizure feels a lot like that sometimes. The difference, of course, is that there is no actual “memory” to go with it.  With a seizure, it is irrational...

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