Monday, August 30, 2010

The hard choices faced by epileptics...

Today I was reading a blog I follow called Brain Thunders, by Alysse Mengason, wherein she took a particularly hard-line stance against epileptics who drive:
http://www.brainthunders.com/new-posts/driving-giving-epilepsy-a-bad-name/
Within her blog, she mentions one key example of a driver with epilepsy who slammed into his victim at 70mph at a traffic stop. He has a history of seizures and had anti-convulsants in his blood, but there is no way to know for sure if he had a seizure behind the wheel.

This is, naturally, a serious thought/worry/concern of mine. Despite the fact that my seizures are virtually all nocturnal (they almost invariably happen while I am asleep), and I have had only two grand-mal seizures in my life while I was awake (one in third grade, one about 5 years ago), I do still have the occasional concern as to whether or not I should drive.

Granted, I don't own a car, I live in a city with a fantastic public transportation system (NYC), and my need or occasions to drive are few and far between.
But what happens when I eventually move to the burbs, am raising a family, and may have cause to drive more frequently and need a car? My fiancee is a HORRID driver. HORRID. (ok, I'm kidding - just want to know if she's reading today and what she'll say about that!)

As I said, my last seizure that occurred while I was awake happened several years ago, and it happened under conditions which doctors say can lead to a seizure (I was out running, and thus dehydrated and exhausted, and was in general stressed out...). Since then, I do drive occasionally. Hardly more than a few times a year, but I am comfortable behind the wheel and won't drive if I don't feel I am well.

So I guess where I am going with is that I, for the most part, don't believe I am a danger behind the wheel. That I don't feel I should force myself off the road simply because I have epilepsy. My medication is good (though I do still have nocturnal seizures every few months), and my driving skills certainly eclipse those of my fiancee! (gonna get in trouble if she read that!) :-)

I have plenty of worries when it comes to my epilepsy. Severe jerking that would hurt Mary. Falling out of bed. SUDEP. And yes, those stories of New Yorkers who have fallen on the tracks after suffering a seizure scare the bejeezus out of me. But driving? Not really. Honestly, is that wrong?

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