Absence Seizures and Sports Question

Welllllll I am the epileptic. I do know Mom kept me from playing on the football team. She didn't want me getting hurt. I still landed on the team as a manager. As a manager you learned a lot about what each person was to do. I was on the side lines and ready to give the coaches the tape of towels or anything else that was needed. I made sure the equipment was turned in and everything was there. It may not have been a player but I was on the team.I also know that I did things others wouldn't. I climbed the mountain. I hunted. Ran track, When I was in school we had PE which required us to play all kinds of sports and yes football was one along with soccer which is a contact sport too as is basketball. I excelled in sports but parents do have to sign forms to be on teams.Your son is no different then the other kids he is around. He can do what they do and may do it better,I hope Mereloaded sees your post. Her son has epilepsy and is active in sports and has been seizure free for some time now.Joe

You said he is doing well.  Does that mean his seizures are being controlled and is this verified on an EEG?  If he is well-controlled I personally would not have major concerns other than to talk to his coaches about limiting his risk for concussions as much as possible and to discuss how to administer rescue medicine (ie Diastat), should the need arise.  I would also alert them to look for signs of seizure activity and if there are any possible triggers (heat, overstimulation, hyperventilation, light) and just generally have a plan in place to discuss with the coaches in case a seizure breaks through on their watch.

I am not a neurologist.  My daughter has a history of severe epilepsy and is a cheerleader and my son is healthy and is a football player.  I probably am a little more in a position to speak about cheerleading than football.  My daughter, who will be five years seizure free in January, is getting the opportunity to be one of her team's "pretty little flyers" this year.  One part of me is scared to death about the concussion and fall risk.  The other part of me is absolutely thrilled to death that she has come this far!  Here is the girl whose seizures had rendered her nonambulatory and comatose and now she is not only walking but soaring!  It is a perfect symbol of unyielding triumph over the beast that held her down for so long!  That part of me is the part that remembers how much, while watching the helpless devastation that epilepsy wrought over her life, regretted the earlier caution of my pre-epilepsy parenting.  I regretted that she had never been to Disney World, or sky-diving for that matter, because at one point it looked like she would never have any of those missed chances again.  This may be a certain amount of PTSD doing the talking for me with this, I don't know.  But I do know that now that God has given her a second chance there is no longer any room left in my heart with the strength to deny my daughter the blessings that epilepsy tried so savagely to steal from her.  By all means, talk to your neuro and be informed about your decision, whatever you choose. But ultimately it will be your decision after all, and knowing what is best for your child is something for which you hold the exclusive level of expertise.