11/28/2016
Since being diagnosed with epilepsy, I have decided to make it my newest platform for pageantry, as it extremely important to me, my family and my friends.
As Epilepsy Awareness Month comes to a close after Wednesday, here is some important information I have learned and gathered since being diagnosed with a type of epilepsy.
1. Each year, at least 200,000 American women and men of any age will be diagnosed with some form of epilepsy.
2. Each year, Americans will spend over $15.5 billion (yes, billion) to treat or care for epilepsy.
3. 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy in a lifetime.
4. There is no cure for epilepsy, but it can be treated.
5. There are approximately three million people with epilepsy in America alone.
6. For each type of epilepsy, medication types are limited.
For my family and myself, it has been a struggle, even though I have only been diagnosed for a short period of time. Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy, also known as JME, is the type of epilepsy I was diagnosed with on October 20, 2016, after multiple tests on my blood, heart, and brain.
There are days that I am happy, energetic, and well-rested, which is the normal Grace that everyone knows I am and strive to be daily. However, there are days I seem emotionless, tired, and almost empty without intention of acting like that. My mother and I remind each other that I need to take my medicine twice daily. I have to make sure I get at least 9-10 hours of sleep a night (at GPS, there were times I'd be lucky to get ten hours a week), and I have to watch my diet to make sure I don't eat too many carbs, since those can greatly impact the chance of a seizure. The scariest part to my family, friends, and loved ones was the known fact that if my seizure (tonic-clonic) had lasted for at least thirty more seconds, there was about a 90% chance I would have slipped into a coma, which is quite terrifying. The worst part for me was finding out I couldn't start driving again until April, since the law states that after a seizure, you can't drive for six months. That meant I couldn't get my license on my actual 16th birthday.
But, it is not completely negative.
I have my family, friends, teachers, coaches, and loved ones watching over me each moment of each day, and that might sound extensive, but it means more to me than anyone could know. I have a new topic that is held near and dear to not only my heart, but everyone else close to me. We know that treatments are available to me, thanks to advancements in technology.
Each day is something I have to be thankful for. Sure, I have to take more medication than normal, I have to get more sleep than the average person my age, and I have to watch my diet closely, but at the end of the day, I get to carry on living life as a fifteen-year-old girl with a heart full of love, a brain full of knowledge (even if some nerves are a little messed up), and a spirit shining brighter than anyone could imagine. Each day, I choose to live life to the fullest, and that is a choice that will never change in my heart and mind, no matter what nerves are disturbed.
"Pain is inevitable, suffering is a choice."-Sally Komar
