Sunday, May 31, 2009

He had another seizure...sob...

Seizure...what is a seizure??....truthfully, I always got confused between the term seizure and epilepsy...also sometimes to explain to people what is a seizure or epilepsy can be quite disheartening as many don't know much about it...or some don't even know about it...but i can't blame for other peoples ignorance as I was once an ignorant person myself before I had a special needs child...so to summarize what is a seizure or epilepsy is,I thought of sharing with you what are its definitions according to epilepsy.com ...which is a frequent viewed website when Ridhwan gets one of his seizure episodes...or fits...yes,yes, another term that people use is fits..hmmm...anyway...

Epilepsy is a neurological condition, which affects the nervous system. Epilepsy is also known as a seizure disorder. It is usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures that were not caused by some known medical condition like alcohol withdrawal or extremely low blood sugar. Sometimes, according to the International League Against Epilepsy, epilepsy can be diagnosed after one seizure, if a person has a condition that places them at high risk for having another.

The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but most of the time the cause is unknown. The word "epilepsy" does not indicate anything about the cause of the person's seizures, what type they are, or how severe they are.

By: Carol Camfield, M.D. / Robert S. Fisher, M.D., Ph.D.

Does this make sense to you? Umm..more or less lah for me....hehehee... this now is the definition of a seizure...

A seizure is a sudden surge of electrical activity in the brain that usually affects how a person feels or acts for a short time. Seizures are not a disease in themselves. Instead, they are a symptom of many different disorders that can affect the brain. Some seizures can hardly be noticed, while others are totally disabling.

Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, M.D.

Okay, so in short, what I can understand is that if you got one time seizure only you won't be categorised as having epilepsy, but, if the seizures occurs again and again, then you are likely to have epilepsy or some called as epileptic or what not...so in this case, yes, ridhwan has epilepsy and mind you...he has had different types of seizures within his 4 years of life now...

So, from what I've seen and read he has had more than 3 types of seizures already...but overall it was in the primarily generalized seizure type...Primary generalized seizures begin with a widespread electrical discharge that involves both sides of the brain at once. Now, he has had absence seizures - brief episodes of staring. Another name for them is petit mal (PET-ee mahl). During the seizure, awareness and responsiveness are impaired. People who have them usually don't realize when they've had one. There is no warning before a seizure, and the person is completely alert immediately afterward....so, this seizure happened when he was less than a year old I think...where he would stare away into the distance as if wondering about his future or something..and so I thought!! Rupa-rupanya it was one of those silent seizure...oh my...

Then he also had what they called the myoclonic seizure..now for your information, most of the seizures that Ridhwan had before looked harmless and somewhat not so scarry like the seizures I'm sure most people are more familiar such as the falling down, and trembling like mad and excessice drooling and foamy drooling coming out...yes...ridhwan had one of this yesterday...and it scared the hell out of me! Sorry about the language...buut...from what our neuro paed explained...it is the myoclonic seizure that I should be more worried about...hmmmm...anyway, what is myoclonic seizure...

Myoclonic (MY-o-KLON-ik) seizures are brief, shock-like jerks of a muscle or a group of muscles. "Myo" means muscle and "clonus" (KLOH-nus) means rapidly alternating contraction and relaxation—jerking or twitching—of a muscle.

Ridhwan had this last year...it started around May or so..or earlier..darn my memory is so failing me these days...anyway, when I saw it first time, it looked as if someone who was in shocked as if going to fall from the bed where your hands is raised up in the air...Ridhwan was like that but as the definition says more of jerking...and it sort of got worse until he had to be warded in October last year for nearly 3 weeks...and it seems, that this particular seizure is a difficult one to cure or get rid of from what our neuro paed said..that scared me even more...but she was very positive about it and said Ridhwan had overcomed his fits for 2 years before and there is a chance he will have no more fits again...amin...I have to be positive about that...and I am....

Then, when we all thought the medication combination of Lamictal and Topomax is going to be it..he had an episode in december last year...just after 2 months being warded...now this is the tonic-clonic seizure..from what I read and understand lah....

This type is what most people think of when they hear the word "seizure." An older term for them is "grand mal." As implied by the name, they combine the characteristics of tonic seizures and clonic seizures. The tonic phase comes first: All the muscles stiffen. Air being forced past the vocal cords causes a cry or groan. The person loses consciousness and falls to the floor. The tongue or cheek may be bitten, so bloody saliva may come from the mouth. The person may turn a bit blue in the face. After the tonic phase comes the clonic phase: The arms and usually the legs begin to jerk rapidly and rhythmically, bending and relaxing at the elbows, hips, and knees. After a few minutes, the jerking slows and stops. Bladder or bowel control sometimes is lost as the body relaxes. Consciousness returns slowly, and the person may be drowsy, confused, agitated, or depressed.

Now...what Ridhwan had yesterday was clenching his teeth, excessive drooling and the arms and legs begin to jerk rapidly as if he was being shaken badly by someone....and from what my neuro paed has informed me many times...observe how long your child's fits occur...if more than 5 minutes, insert the rectal diazepam to stop the fits...somehow my neuro paed has entrusted me with this responsibility and confidence that if any seizures may occur with Ridhwan that lasts more than 5 minutes, do not go running around the house panicking or cry away like there is no tomorrow as what I need to do is put him to the side, while he is lying down and stop the seizure once and for all....and that's what I did....yup...I did that....but....Allah only knows how my heart nearly stopped seeing him in this condition as he was somewhat unconcious at times and part of his face was stiffening and drooping....a look I fear so much and dread seeing again after last years december episode....

Okay, let me just tell you what actually happened ya...yesterday I was happily chatting away with dear Chery about weddings and all and Ridhwan was as usual in his cot sleeping away...then suddenly, he woked up sitting down in his cot...looked at me...called out "Mama.."... then was drooling like no ones business...at first I thought, oh no, is he trying to get rid of his phlegm or something?? Then the drooling got a bit more...the fear hit me...oh no, oh no, please not a fits...not when hubby is away in the office....and so I told Chery that I had to go thinking some sliver was coming out of his mouth when it was the starting of a seizure..the first thing I did then was looked at the time, count Reenaz, count...how many minutes is this....and while doing that, struggled to get hold of Ridhwan's rectal diazepam in his cupboard next to his cot...got it...then it became just as I feared, looking a bit violent or rapid jerkings...I panicked...I quickly carried Ridhwan and rushed him to my mom's room and told my parents, "Ridhwan dapat fits!!" ...and that's when the commotion got even more lah kan...hahaha...okay, no reason to laugh about it....but after seeing its more than 5 minutes already, calling hubby couldn't, line was barred! Aiseh abang, tak bayar bill ka....and oh, what am I waiting for......so I inserted the rectal diazepam as have been done before and has always been dreaded before...sigh...

The seizure didn't really stop straight away....jerkings was there...facial expression was still stiff...but he was slowly wanting to doze away...sleepy....ya Allah, the medication is starting to work I hope...and soon enough, after I carried him in my arms...he was fast asleep in my arms in a very deep sleep....

All in all, the seizure episode on saturday really freaked me out...one the stiffening of the face....it looked so abnormal like as if someone pulling his face ..then the jerkings, repetitive scarrily looking movements...and the fact it didn't react fast to the medication, so wondering, oh my god, is it going to stop??!! And of course, hubby wasn't around..that made it even more scarry...it made me also think, at this rate, it still is so much safer to live with my parents with Ridhwan's condition despite having my own house....also hubby travels nearly every two weeks...gosh, imagine me all alone in that situation in my house and what if it had been more than 5 minutes cause then I'd had to rush to the hospital all my myself...

But thinking about this all is of no use at this point...as what I should be more concerned is the fact....darn it, it came again, meaning the due EEG this 16th June will pretty much summarise that there are still seizures in his brain and medications may either have to be increased or change...and so since Ridhwan is scheduled for an appointment with his pyhsiotherapist this wednesday, hubby and I have decided to see Dr. Sofiah too after the theraphy session...not wanting to wait any longer for any new episodes...oh no siree....nope....

What I learned now...as years passing by as a mother to a special needs child and an epileptic one too...I need to be equipped with knowledge....knowledge not just concerning how to give therapy to ridhwan but especially concerning seizures....cause you see, there doesn't seem to be only one type of seizures that Ridhwan has encountered....and what to do if he had any, too was very important....and so I urged parents out there whose child had seizures before please read up or better still ask your neuro paed to explain what your child had or having...knowing is an advantage as it may just save your child's life...and I need to know more....cause I still feel I know less...but most importantly, I pray to Allah so much that Ridhwan will be fits free one fine day...amin...cause I know he is such a smart boy and there is so much goodness in him to be shared with people out there...mama doa Ridhwan that Allah will always protect you and whatever that come our way, we go through it together one thing at a time kay...I love you Ridhwan.....

fuish...panjangnya tulis kali nie....hehehee....

2 comments:

Jiey^Mien said...

Auntie love you too Ridhwan.. =)

Akak, hopefully there'll be no more seizure for Ridhwan after this.. Bad seizure! Tak suka bad seizure!! =(

Rayyan jenis yang silent seizure tu.. Panggil pun buat tak layan.. Pastu elok2 plak.. *Sigh* Again, go away bad seizure!! Don't disturb Ridhwan and Rayyan!!

Mamapinkie said...

Tu lah kan, go away seizures...sigh...Insya-Allah one day all the seizures in Ian and Ridhwan will go away yea Jiey...amin....Aunite pun saaayang Ian...such a sweet little boy with such a sweet smile...suka auntie tengok senyuman Ian..