It’s two in the morning and all is quiet for a while, but in the blink of an eye, it’s not. I’m in my room when I start to hear rapid and loud thumping. My first thought is fireworks, but then I think, who would be setting off fireworks at two in the morning? Is it gun shots? I hear my mom call my father, “Come quick! I need your help!” At this point I panic. Should I grab my baseball bat?
I open my door and yell down the stairs, “What’s going on?”
“Lucky (my dog) is having a seizure!” my mom responds frantically.
“What’s going on?” my dad asks commandingly from his bedroom.
“Lucky is having a seizure!” I respond
My dad runs by as my mom asks me to search the internet to find out what to do because this has never happened before and we don’t know what to do. When I finally get downstairs I find Lucky sitting in the middle of the living room floor, using his tongue to try and clear foam and froth from his mouth. The room smells of urine and vomit and I can see wet marks all over the carpet. My parents are around him, gently petting his back and waiting to find out what to do. I find the answers and read them aloud. Everything begins to calm down, but it was quite the scare and we are all a bit shaken.
We go to school with thousands of people. And although you may have never experienced someone having a seizure, it is always good to be prepared and know how to handle the situation.
According to SleepMed Inc., statistics show that 10 percent of Americans will experience a seizure at some point in their lifetime. That’s one in every ten, so luck favors you to be prepared.
Here are some tips from epileptic Stacey Chillemi and her neurologist Orrin Devinsky, M.D. from their journal article in Neurology Now to help you know if someone is having a seizure and how you can help.
Some signs to judge if someone is having a seizure:
- Uncontrollable jerking or shaking
- Blackouts
- Foaming mouth
- Eyes roll back
- Lack of bladder control
- Falling suddenly
- Trouble breathing
- Clenched teeth
How to help:
- Move anything the person could get hurt with out of the way
- Don’t hold them down; It could lead to injury
- Try to time the seizure; If it lasts over 5 minutes call 911
- If another seizure occurs immediately after the first, also call 911
- If the person is standing, try to stop them from falling
- Position the person on their side to ease breathing and drain their mouth of foam
- Don’t put anything in their mouth; including your fingers
- Loosen any tight clothing
- Don’t give them anything to eat or drink till they have recovered