What a Relief!

Our visit to the neurologist today was very enlightening. I not only learned about Karissa's seizure episode, but of my own as well. After repeating the story of Karissa's recent seizure to the doctor, I gave him my background. Well, it turns out, after about 28 years, I discover that I did not have epilepsy as a child. I was misdiagnosed, as was probably more common back then, in the dark ages, when research and studies were still being conducted and they didn't know as much as they do now. The doctor today said that they now know that there are no epileptic seizures that are caused by trauma (all of mine were). What I had, and what Karissa has, is a genetic predisposition to have seizures, or convulsions, as a result of trauma in combination with either breath holding, which she probably did, or passing out. He said that she could have a few more over the next few years, but would probably grow out of it after that, as I did. Her EEG was perfectly normal and there is no real harm done by the seizures. It sounds like the greatest "harm" done was from the phenobarbital that I took as a child for my seizures. He said there is no need for any medication, but that I didn't look too affected by it (he doesn't know me that well!:)

I feel much lighter now, not having to worry about Karissa anymore, and not having to put on all my medical forms that I had epilepsy. In some of my own recent studies of it, I found it is a brain disorder, which doesn't sound good to me. So, maybe Karissa's seizure wasn't so bad after all. I was able to uncover a part of me that I didn't know! Thanks for all the inquiries about Karissa!