Cherilyn's Story

I live in a small town in Idaho. When I was first diagnosed with epilepsy at age 13, I had two tonic-clonic seizures in the school library during lunch hour. I am grateful continually that it wasn't the cafeteria! What a disaster that could have been! That afternoon a teacher I have always revered took time to explain the situation clearly to his music classes, which overall included the majority of the school. He made it clear that it was a serious situation,and nothing to joke about. With both of the seizures as strong as they were, and so close together, my parents were informed then that such an incident had a 90% death rate. My own case was not serious, but I was unconscious for several hours and there was a great deal of concern. Later that evening at the school concert, an event attended by a high percentage of the community, this same teacher dedicated to me a song entitled "The Rhythm of Life." I had only heard of epilepsy before in a book read to me by my sixth grade teacher telling about a young girl hiding her condition. It was called "What If They Knew?" In my case, everyone knew. What was I going to do? As time went on, however, I realized that this was to my advantage. My friends and acquaintances had seen that it was nothing to make fun of or take lightly, and I was glad of that. I continued through high school and on to college, my seizures never fully under control. I also spent 18 months in the Chicago area on a volunteer missionary program, rooming with various companions along the way as we taught families in their homes and did service projects. They came to understand my situation, and I came to relate to theirs. While the majority of the missionaries didn't have significant health concerns, I certainly wasn't alone. One young woman I worked with wore a small insulin pump at all times. Another had a very rare hair condition that would not let her hair grow more than a fraction of an inch past her scalp without breaking off. These were to them just what my seizures are to me: an inconvenient part of life that is dealt with as we move on to more important matters. Many of those we served certainly had bigger problems than ours. In one of my areas we weekly visited an elderly living center to help a bit and provide activity for them. I remember once as a lady fell to the floor

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