Seizure: Do You Recognize the Warning Signs?

What is the first image that comes to the mind of a person when they hear the word, 'seizure'? My guess is that for most, they see a writhing person on the ground, not conscious of their surroundings- an immediate medical emergency.

It is important to note in order to become medically literate, that there are over 100 different types of seizures. This article will not attempt to name them all or describe them all. It will clearly state the signs and symptoms of a simple partial seizure.

Hopefully, it will enlighten and inform, and help you recognize a condition that I believe I had been experiencing for at least four years.

It took a simple partial seizure to bring me to an emergency room the day I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And it was only after that diagnosis that I learned that 1/3 of all brain tumors first present with a seizure. I also realized that I had probably been having these types of seizures for several years. But, because, I had been wrongly diagnosed and was already on an anti-seizure drug, the extent of the seizures were easily masked.

This is how the seizure that brought me to the emergency room began. I was standing in the kitchen making lunch for my grandson and I. We had just gotten home from the Y, where I exercised three times a week.

Suddenly, I felt as if I had gotten the sun in my eye, and couldn't get it out. The glare was overwhelming. I felt shaky, and kept thinking the glare would leave. Then I looked at my grandson and he began to split in half, and then become two. I was terrified. This was happening and I was alone with a three year old child.

I called 911 immediately. I felt as if I were in an unreal state. Dreamlike. I took my grandson's hand and we sat in the living room until the paramedics came. During the waiting I had feelings of impending doom, and of course, I was scared to death. Throughout it all, I saw flashing lights, white sparkles.