I had the EEG on Wednesday, and it was fascinating – the technician pasted about 30 electrodes all over my head and looked at my brain waves as they were being displayed on the computer screen and being recorded for a neurologist to ‘read’. I watched the waves scroll across the screen, then in utter fascination watched them spell out the words ‘mene, mene tekel upsharin’ which I believe is Sanskrit for “bring me some cookie dough ice cream – stat!”. Oh wait, that was just my imagination. The technician was a lot of fun, and part of my test was to flash a strobe light at various intervals onto my closed eyelids. It was bright as day, even with my eyes closed. The purpose was to stimulate some stress and see how my brain reacted. She (the tech) mentioned that at Cher’s 513 th farewell concert they had 2 people brought into their ER due to strobe light induced seizure (Personally, I think a Cher concert alone would be enough to induce a seizure – THIEVES, THIEVES, TRAMPS AND THIEVES – AUUUUGH!). The technician said that my brain waves looked good; she didn’t see any abnormalities – hopefully the neurologist would say the same thing.
Thursday - who could tell that a seemingly normal day would end up (as Bert says) crazier than a peach orchard boar? I got good nights sleep and was feeling relaxed and confident going into the day. About 8:45, I felt like I had some flu symptoms – almost like an out of body experience (later on I would find this is called an aura and commonly precedes a seizure). Next thing I knew I was in an ambulance enroute to the ER, having had a massive seizure and flopping around the carpet at work like a duck on a June bug. I came to a little bit and remember asking the paramedic “what is happening to me, I don’t understand?” and then lapsing again into unconsciousness. There was a danger in that a seizure victim’s muscles typically contract very hard, and in my case the ER personnel were concerned that my bicep contractions, due to their large size; would create a mini-shock wave as they displaced the air around some of the sensitive instruments. Oh wait, I guess that was still part of my unconscious fantasy….
So now, I’m not in denial anymore! And as you all have been aware for many years and that I’m just coming to grips with, there is something definitely wrong with my brain. I’m still very sore all over from the muscle contractions, I feel like a human piñata. I’m on medication to prevent seizures, and see the neurologist again on Tuesday. I want to thank all of you for your calls, prayers and emails. I have truly felt an outpouring of love and concern that humbles me. I don’t know what’s down this road for me, but I know I don’t go it alone – and I’m grateful to God and all of you! So, here are my prayer requests:
- It’s now a very real possibility that my license will be revoked, and my ability to do triathlons (or swim, bike and run). Please pray that the doctors will find the suitable treatment that will allow me to resume a normal life!
- Please pray that I will resist the temptation to ‘fake’ a seizure in front of Sherry for a practical joke – I’ve already been tempted and I think she would kill me if the seizure didn’t.
- Kip, a special request – if I go down in church, would you perhaps just let everyone know that this isn’t an Ananias/Sapphira type of judgment? Thanks!
