Epilepsy Talk
How were YOU first diagnosed with epilepsy? | March 9, 2026
I almost drowned in the shower.
It had three round shower heads on the wall with one more huge one overhead. And a heavy plate-glass door that was like trying to get out of a vault!
All of a sudden, I felt the blood rush through my toes (that’s what it felt like) and I knew I had to get out. Or drown.
It looked like it was going to be option #2. I couldn’t turn the handle. I kept trying, but I was on my way to never-never land.
With one last push, the door miraculously opened and I landed with my head right over the door sill. Body still in shower.
Pretty dramatic.
But, it wasn’t the first or the last time I passed out.
I fell all the time. Up the stairs, down the stairs, standing still.
I walked into walls (and broke my nose), doors, poles, anything upright.
But everyone thought I was just clumsy. Which I was.
But with a surgeon for a step-father and a psychologist for a step-mother, you thought they’d be a bit clued in.
Maybe they were. Maybe they weren’t.
But when I was diagnosed — at the insistence of my father (at least HE was paying attention), I was told by one and all in my family that I had “crooked brain waves”.
They never mentioned the “E” word. And I never knew any better.
Isn’t denial a wonderful thing?
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Epilepsy Talk 
My first seizure was about 10 years ago. I was attempting to climb aboard our boat and fell into the water! The dog immediately jumped in after me and tried to save me. Then my boyfriend jumped in and I woke up with Paramedics taking me to the hospital. Ugh!
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Comment by Annie Buchanan — March 9, 2026 @ 12:37 PM
How scary! But how wonderful to have a dedicated alert dog.
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Comment by Phylis Feiner Johnson — March 9, 2026 @ 12:40 PM