4 ms·

My friend CW had grand mal seizures (major epileptic 'fits' for which he had a 'brain pacemaker' fitted which was a little successful). Sadly he died after a se

My friend CW had grand mal seizures (major epileptic 'fits' for which he had a 'brain pacemaker' fitted which was a little successful). Sadly he died after a seizure when he was home alone, about 15 years ago. He was quite capable, we were assistant cub scout leaders (UK) together and whilst he couldn't be solely in charge of the kids he could lead activities and games. He also took part in climbing, hikes, watersports, etc. The principle cub leader (Akela) was determined to help him take a full part as a leader and in activities; both great people. Outside scouting my friend did fundraising for epilepsy charities, playing with a rock band, and helped kids to come to terms with their epilepsy too. CW had applied for jobs but couldn't get anyone to keep him on; he spent a lot of time playing video games. In some ways it was easy for him not to work, but he would get frustrated that he felt he wasn't contributing; that he was reliant on his parents. He couldn't work, as others have said, because he might have a fit basically any moment and leave a puddle of blood and require emergency care. Employers weren't keen to take that responsibility on. To be fair, it was quite scary, he did have some warning that he was likely to have a fit (eg when tired) but not exactly when. He'd be walking along and simply fall face first on the floor -- he had a lot of scars on his face and forehead, but refused wearing a helmet. He had been hoping to get an assistance dog; they can tell when their owner is going to have a seizure; the owner then can get themselves to a safer place, call someone to check on them, et cetera. My friend wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but was not stupid. Jobs that suited would probably be low level administration type jobs. But, he would have managed manual labour if he was paired with someone sensitive to his condition, especially if he had an assistance dog (no heavy machinery though!). Aside: I don't see why your comment deserves downvotes. Recognising one's ignorance on a topic is the first step towards wisdom.

themaninthedark 4y ago
I appreciate you sharing, I am sorry to hear about your friend. My guess on the downvotes are they interpreted my question as saying that I didn't see a place for people with seizures in the workforce. I guess I could have tried to phrase it better... Part of the reason I asked what I did is because I feel that work and having work is important to people. It's one of the things I think about as we introduce more and more automation. Some people are good with physical things, some with more mental and other things as well(caring, making something, etc.). Not having jobs that are able to satisfy leads to a large amount of our public strife. I think about one of my uncles, he self described himself as a hellion when he was younger and credited either the Navy or the Merchant Marines(I think he was in both) as straightening him out. My understanding now is that you have to have a clean record to join, they are more professional organizations. I have a friend who works with Doctors without Boarders. He goes into areas and sets up camps. He has a very strained relationship with his wife and kids because he is always going off someplace. He tried to stay, both working for others and then owning his own business but when I talked to him, he was not happy. He could not stand to be in the same place doing the same thing, he needed the newness and challenge. I think about this when ever we talk about offshoring or industries going away and how people should just change jobs. It is a difficult problem.
- pbhjpbhj 4y ago
  That all dovetails well with my thoughts about the more [AI] automated future. Thanks for sharing.

themaninthedark 4y ago

I appreciate you sharing, I am sorry to hear about your friend. My guess on the downvotes are they interpreted my question as saying that I didn't see a place for people with seizures in the workforce. I guess I could have tried to phrase it better... Part of the reason I asked what I did is because I feel that work and having work is important to people. It's one of the things I think about as we introduce more and more automation. Some people are good with physical things, some with more mental and other things as well(caring, making something, etc.). Not having jobs that are able to satisfy leads to a large amount of our public strife. I think about one of my uncles, he self described himself as a hellion when he was younger and credited either the Navy or the Merchant Marines(I think he was in both) as straightening him out. My understanding now is that you have to have a clean record to join, they are more professional organizations. I have a friend who works with Doctors without Boarders. He goes into areas and sets up camps. He has a very strained relationship with his wife and kids because he is always going off someplace. He tried to stay, both working for others and then owning his own business but when I talked to him, he was not happy. He could not stand to be in the same place doing the same thing, he needed the newness and challenge. I think about this when ever we talk about offshoring or industries going away and how people should just change jobs. It is a difficult problem.

pbhjpbhj 4y ago
That all dovetails well with my thoughts about the more [AI] automated future. Thanks for sharing.