Roberts Life with Epilepsy

I. A Typical Childhood: Until the age 12 my life was like that of a typical boy in that era. I went to school, had parts in plays, played sports, and got into the typical mischievous things that children get into. Likewise, my family was a typical family of that time. Our family was close; and we made efforts to spend time with other members of the family; especially during holidays.

II. A 180-Degree Turn For The Worse: One summer afternoon at the age of 12, after I had finished mowing our yard I laid down on our next door neighbor's patio. Through the closed doors and windows I heard the mother screaming and hollering and cursing at her 5 year old son. She persisted for at least 10 minutes with her non-stop vulgarities, cursing, and verbal lashing. At first to this 12 year old it seemed somewhat humorous. I mean, it was him that was getting into trouble; not me. After several minutes of this incessant onslaught I remember thinking that I felt sorry for the boy. When he came outside I called his name to come over to where I was. I wanted to talk with him to try to help him feel better. As I lay there with my eyes closed I heard his steps getting closer. Then, the next thing I remember was waking up in my be at home. Although I did not know what, I knew that something was definitely wrong. How wrong I had not yet even begun to realize. What this single event had done and I was yet to understand was to take my typical/normal life and spin it around until it came to rest 180 degrees from where it was. What I did not know until 25 years later is that it changed not just the physical aspects; but, every aspect of my being.

Social and Peer Reactions: As most everyone will agree adolescence is enough of a task to take on by itself. When I began having seizures at the age of roughly 12 1/2 years old I also entered adolescence with all of its anxieties and emotional upheavals too. Beginning junior high school is a somewhat of tense and anxiety producing time in and of itself. In addition to these tension producing milestones add to them the onset of epilepsy and you have a really complicated problem. My first experience/contact with epilepsy came during the seventh grade one day at school. One

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