Epilepsy Talk
What is the worst seizure you’ve ever had? | August 30, 2024
For me, believe it or not, it was my first one.
I can remember being in the shower, washing my very long hair.
It was one of those old-fashioned showers with a heavy plate-glass door and a stainless steel handle that you had to turn to get in and get out.
There were 4 water jets…three coming from the side wall…and a shower head in the ceiling.
All of a sudden, it felt like my blood was rushing out of my toes. As all of my energy drained out of me, I thought: “I’m going to drown.”
Then, as I fought with the locked door handle to get out, I realized: “I’m going to die.”
With one last push, I managed to turn the handle, before I went down. And thankfully, my head landed on the floor, outside of the shower.
I was terrified.
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About the author
Epilepsy Talk 
I’ve had many violent seizures over the course of more than forty years. The last truly dangerous I experienced was in 2010 when I fell down a flight of stairs and fractured my skull.
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Comment by Brian Wallace Refford — August 30, 2024 @ 9:46 AM
OMG! Were there any after-effects? I slammed my head on the front walk pavers and I had “zoom” eyeballs for days. Couldn’t focus and could barely function. But that was only a concussion. What did you go through?
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Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — August 30, 2024 @ 11:12 AM
My worst seizure had the best results. I was two blocks from home driving and started having a seizure. When I came to, I was in the area where they were setting up a stop for our Metro transit. Fortunately, no one was there.
The car’s engine was six inches from crushing my legs. My back was at a 90-degree angle…in the wrong direction. My big toe was broken. This led to the worst decision I ever made.
First of all, my mind wasn’t clear this close to the end of the seizure. The ambulance showed up and I could only think of the last 3-4 times I ended up in the back of an ambulance when I didn’t need it so I told them to leave me alone. I’ll take care of myself. The first time I needed the emergency room and I’m asking them not to help me. I had to wait for my son and wife to get there and I went to the hospital in the back seat of my son’s car. X-rays showed my L3 was out of place and that still bothers me. I get shots every 18-20 months.
How did this lead to the best results? This accident encouraged me to look for more serious treatment of my seizures. I get a call from my mother-in-law telling me to watch this surgery on TV. It’s a woman having brain surgery to help control her seizures. I watched it. I called my epileptologist asking for the procedure. I found I was a candidate. I had the surgery and now I’m almost 24 years seizure-free.
Just goes to show some of our saddest stories can still have a happy ending.
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Comment by Ed Lugge — August 30, 2024 @ 11:49 AM
As they say, sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn. Happily, your mother-in-law “saw the light”. And you had a good solid base of support there.
Off topic, but my husband gets cortisone and lidocane shots in his back every 4-6 months. And then laser ablation on his sacroiliac about every 9 months.
He has this horrid autoimmune condition (which is too long to say, no less spell)! And the shots + laser ablation keep him going.
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Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — August 30, 2024 @ 4:50 PM
Everytime I get the shots I’m thinking, “Hey, you’re still here.”
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Comment by Ed Lugge — August 30, 2024 @ 6:23 PM
Last year I was running with my dog and had a rush of vertigo. I recovered from the vertigo and started walking back home, then got hit with a seizure. I don’t remember much, my dog stayed with me, but it was 45 minutes before someone found me and called an ambulance. It was another 45 minutes later I started to recover. My wife was anxious as she had to permit the doctors to administer oxygen because of the 6 doses of the anti seizure drug they had to administer. 2023 is a year I could forget!
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Comment by Jon Sadler — August 30, 2024 @ 5:45 PM
That’s a long time out. No wonder they were pumping you up with IVs and then oxygen. Happily they knew what they were doing. My ER docs had to call poison control! Let’s hope for a safer 2024.
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Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — August 30, 2024 @ 5:58 PM
I do not want to remember them well enough to compare and decide on the worst one. I did not want to ask Rose for the same reason. We are grateful anytime we have a seizure without an injury.
Epilepsy is a terrorist!
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Comment by Flower Roberts — August 31, 2024 @ 9:15 PM
Your poignant writing makes this so clear.
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Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — September 1, 2024 @ 9:57 AM