Student Has Epileptic Seizure during Class
A student had an epileptic seizure during his English Composition I class on Nov. 7.
“Coming from the back of the room, I heard a clatter. Then I heard, ‘He’s Down!’,” said Professor James Turner, who was teaching the class when his student had the seizure at 12:20 p.m. The student was on an ambulance within 10 minutes.
The student who had the seizure wishes to remain anonymous. He said, “When I have a seizure, it feels like a switch goes off, and [I am] stuck in a dark suspension of sorts. The aftermath is the worst part by far. It’s like getting a massive hangover without all of the drinking, and that’s my experience in a nutshell.”
“A student called me from my son’s phone,” said the student’s mother, a medical assistant at the South Troy Health Center. “This is the fourth one he’s had on campus. They started back up when he turned 19, after a two year break.”
“I’ve never seen a seizure before. It was really scary,” said Allison Prior, freshman Liberal Arts.
Carly Juneau, Individual Studies freshman, said, “I didn’t know what was happening or how else to help so I called 911.”
November is Epilepsy Awareness Month. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder and there are many different varieties that affect different parts of the brain. Although not all forms of epilepsy are the same, all are defined by recurrent seizures and convulsions.
In some cases, a person may go years without a seizure, just to have them start back up spontaneously. This may be caused by hormonal changes brought on in the last stages of puberty, excessive stress, or environmental factors. Getting poor sleep can also make seizures more frequent or severe.
Drinking alcohol can affect the amount of prescribed medicine flowing through the bloodstream, so people with epilepsy should limit their alcohol consumption to less than three drinks in one sitting.
A person prescribed medication to handle their seizures should not stop using it without a physician’s consultation.
Hudson Valley Health Services Office cannot know for sure how many students on campus have epilepsy or a history of seizures, since physicals are not mandatory.
If you see someone having a seizure that lasts more than five minutes, occurs in water, or seems to put the person in pain, you can go to any of the red or blue light phones on campus to be directly connected to Public Safety, or call 911.
Once EMTs are on their way, place something soft under the persons head to protect against injury from convulsions, and gently turn them onto their side to help open up their airway.
It is a common misconception about seizures that a person can swallow their tongue, so do not put anything in their mouths for any reason, as it may damage their teeth or jaws.
For more information, visit www.epilepsyfoundation.org/local/efneny.