My husband Jody and I have two boys. Justice is twelve and a half and my little Zain is seven. We’re a very close loving family. Jody worked second shift, six days a week. I worked 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. three nights a week. I also worked two days a week for a woman who lost her husband. I’m self employed and had been doing this for seven years. Jody worked his job six days a week for about eight years. We’ve always been hard workers and have also taken very good care of our boys. We were living the best we could and happy about all we have accomplished even if it wasn’t much to others it was the world to us. Things started to change at a water park we went to for our first family mini vaca. After we got out our stuff I started feeling funny but didn’t know why. My legs got jiggly and I kept falling down. I fell on my knee and cracked wide open. I didn’t hurt cause I was more worried about why my brain was shocking me for no reason. I got up to the entrance to check in our bags and ran to the bathroom. I don’t remember what happened after that, but later found out I locked myself in the stall and had a full grand mall. Someone found me (from what I was told) just shaking in the stall. I woke up on a stretcher with EMTs all around and my scared family at my side. They released me to my husband and I spent the rest of our time there confused and with a headache like I’ve never had before. I went to the doctor and he confirmed I had a seizure. It never seemed to stop after that. I was still in denial and wouldn’t tell anyone when it was happening. That didn’t get my very far. We were on our way to Indiana Beach when the phone rang. My grandfather had passed at a restaurant suddenly and life seemed to stop from there. My grandfather left all doings concerning his will and estate to my sister and I and a daughter of his second wife. She knows a lot about everything. I had to take so much time off work for all the happenings concerning my grandfather that I felt it was time to let my home care people go for awhile.
Knowing my seizures were getting worse anyway, I was no good to anyone at this point. For months I wasn’t taking seizure meds. Those months were more focused on cleaning out my grandfather’s estate, getting six truck loads to the auction house and doing what we thought he would want us to do. It was very stressful and exhausting, but we did get it all done. Immediately, Jody and I decided to upgrade to a house(finally) and the second we were done with Grandpa’s affairs, we started packing. My seizures were kicking up again and Jody had to quit his job to take care of me. Just that quick our lives were nothing like we were used to. Once we got settled at our new home, the seizures went into full force coming three or more times a week. I had to struggle with the simplest things as not to try to provoke a seizure. I was a prisoner in my own home for awhile getting used to living and managing epilepsy. My family wanted nothing to do with me ’cause I had epilepsy. Not my hubby and kids, but my mother and other extended family on both our sides. Yet I promised God, Jody, and my kids that I would do anything I could to make their lives be as good as I can make it ’cause God put me on Earth to take care of people ’cause I’m perfect at it and passionate about caring for others. Now that the scripts flipped, I’m expected to look within myself for care. I’ve never taken care of myself and don’t know how to! That started as a kid. I NEVER had anyone to take care of me. No one. I’ve beaten the odds like a ninja and continue to beat the odds no matter what comes my way. I’m proud of myself to be honest with ya. I’m letting my guard down now for the first and last time. I’m letting Jody take care of me in a true way. I won’t sneak around him or anything like that, he does know EVERYTHING about my care and is a 100 percent true person. I admire him deeply too. I will always stay the overly-happy mom and wife I am ’cause I can still make a difference at home. My family will help me be safe, happy, and healthy at home, and on my non-seizure days I will do the same for them. I will beat this!!!
