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High school and Epilepsy

Sun, 08/26/2007 - 23:30
Hi everyone my name is Gina; I am 17 years old and a senior in high school. Even though my epilepsy isn't sever I still really feel like a total out sider. It’s not that fun epically at school. I struggle in school a lot epically when it comes to school home work and making new friends because they don’t always get what we are going through in our every day lives. I love to swim in the pool all the time. I also take private piano lesions and do crafts in my spare time for fun like knitting bags and more. I find them very fun. I don’t drive which is pirty disappointing because all of my friends get to. Does anyone feel the same way as me? Talk to ya’ll later.

Comments

Re: High school and Epilepsy

Submitted by pan06 on Mon, 2007-09-03 - 22:46
Hi Gina, I felt the same way when I was a senior. I graduated in '06. I have TLE. I hated not being able to drive and doing other stuff with friends (you know parents over-react and will not let you out of their site). It was kind of embarrasing having to have your parents drop me off at school or dropping me off for senior activities, and then having to wait for them to pick me up. I hope that doesn't cause too much of a problem for you. My main problem was having a hard time remembering stuff (like for tests and everything). You know the TLs are where your memory and speech come from. I would study for about one or two hours the night before a test, and when the test came, I could not remember the stuff and I failed the test. I took Calculus my senior year, my teacher did not believe I had seizures and would not even help me on problems when I needed it. All she would do is yell at me, and tell me to go figure it out myself, so of course I did not do too well in that class. Fortunately I was good buds with the principal and he let my drop the 2nd semester of Calculus, since I only needed the one math credit. I also took A&P. I had a VERY hard time on the tests where you had to name all the bones, muscles, veins, and arteries of the body. So of course, I did not do too well in there either. I hated when I had memorization work in English. I had to study about one hour to be able to memorize about six lines. My teacher looked at me like I was crazy on that. She told me that it only takes her about five minutes to memorize that. I think the only teacher that helped me out was my Healthcare Science teacher. I think one reason he did is because he actually knows what seizure are and the side effects they can cause. I worried my whole senior year that I would fail too many classes or get kick out of National Honor Society. So anyway, to make things short, I hope you do not have these kind of problems that I had. My friends understood what I was going through, so that was not too bad for me. I hope your senior year goes great. Good luck!

I had the same thing my last

Submitted by HilaryWeinberg on Wed, 2007-11-28 - 21:34
I had the same thing my last year of high school. Mine just started last Augest, I was in the hospital more then I was in school. I lost friends cause of it. I was made fun of alot but I never let it bother me. People for most of the school year thought I was faking it. Then when I couldn't drive and had to take the bus the rest of the year I was very mad. So ya I kinda know wut your going through. Are you still in high school?

Re: High school and Epilepsy

Submitted by Strider on Thu, 2007-09-06 - 21:33
Hey! I've been there and gone through a similar experience not much unlike your own. I am a 19 year old college sophomore at UGA and I am a female. Anyways, I graduated in 2006 as well and had a hard time in highschool. Coincidentally, last night my roommates and I were discussing stuff and I mentioned I had epilepsy and my experience in highschool. I would be doing homework for at least 6 to 7 hours at night, go to bed, get up somewhat sleep deprived the following morning and repeat the cycle. I had some free time but not much as I was taking advanced/honors courses. That free time I spent on doing volunteer work and on recovering from the school week as I would be so exhausted at the end of the week. I had practically no social life in highschool. I was an outsider, too, even though my epilepsy isn't severe at all, it's so well controlled no one knows I have it unless I tell them. It can be very frustrating when you have to work twice as hard doing homework, taking tests, and doing other things while your friends sometimes don't have to work as hard and yet they may end up making better grades and having a social life. I am happy that you have hobbies and things you can do to have fun in your life. I also understand the driving thing. I didn't get my license until this past summer and I was so happy. You are not walking this path alone. Others have too, including myself. Even my friends sometimes didn't understand how scared I was at first of driving because they don't know what it is like to have a seizure and how vulnerable we really can feel. What I have found to be helpful is that when people start ragging you about not driving or something I usually end up saying, well at least I don't have to pay for gas, or I didn't choose to be in this situation. If you haven't already, tell your closest friends about all of this and the ones who are true will understand. I apologize that this message is so long. I am just trying to be helpful and give you comfort and hope that everything will work out. I am here for you if you ever have any questions or need someone to listen. As soon as I got here to college life has been a lot easier because having a car is not as important and there are resources on campus who help me out and understand everything I go through. Highschool was a challenge but it made me a stronger person. Just think of all the things you have to look forward to when you graduate. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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