Epilepsy Family

FIRST AID FOR SEIZURES:

Type: tonic-clonic (grand mal)

Protect the person from injury by moving harmful objects and cushioning the head.

Don't try to restrain the person. Don't put anything between their teeth — in fact, don't fiddle with their mouth at all.

When convulsions stop, lie the person on their side. Maintain the airway by keeping the chin up so they can breathe freely.

IF THE SEIZURE CONTINUES FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES, CALL AN AMBULANCE.

Type: "absence" (petit mal)

Repeat anything the person has "missed" and reassure them.

Type: complex-partial seizure:

Stay with the person. Do not restrain them but guide gently away from anything that might be harmful such as machinery.

IN ALL SITUATIONS, STAY CALM AND PROVIDE REASSURANCE.

Epilepsy in the Family

by Australian author Suzanne Yanko has just been launched at the International Bureau for Epilepsy (Asia-Pacific chapter) conference in Melbourne.

Copies have made their way to destinations as far away as Ireland, the USA and Hong Kong.

There are plans for a Chinese edition of the book, and an e-book with extra information for international students.

The book is available on Amazon, through selected bookshops and www.bookpal.com.au (see Stockists page).

For bulk copies of the book, at a discount price, contact the author at info@epilepsyfamily.com.au.

Suzanne Yanko was a busy ESL teacher with school-age children when her epilepsy was finally diagnosed after 10 years of strange "episodes".

She underwent successful surgery to resolve the seizures and wrote the book she wanted to read - a health guide from a patient's perspective, called Coming to terms with Epilepsy

(Allen & Unwin, 1992).

Suzanne turned to a new career in the media and, nearly 20 years on, she is well-published in newspapers, has been an editorial manager of a large website and worked in radio in Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong as well as Australia.

Suzanne was inspired to write Epilepsy in the Family

to honour her son Daniel, who tragically died in an epilepsy-related accident.

She wants to educate the wider community about the different types of seizures which will affect one to two per cent of the population at some point.

But above all, Epilepsy in the Family

has been written to offer hope to families, not of a cure but of greater control and management of the disorder.

Suzanne still broadcasts with community radio and reviews classical music in Melbourne - in between writing and visiting her daughter and little granddaughter in Sydney whenever possible!

The most dangerous room in the house might well be the bathroom, as it is often the location of many

injuries and even death.

At the very least, make sure that the door of the bathroom or toilet can be opened so you can get access to anyone who is in trouble.

Most doors can easily be re-hung to open outwards instead of inwards.

Make this a priority when checking your home for safety.

Families that have experience of epilepsy understand that epilepsy does not always mean a tonic-clonic (or grand mal) fall. They are more likely to define epilepsy as severe if the seizures are frequent (and not well controlled by medication) or if epilepsy significantly intrudes into work, schooling or family and social life.

The good news for families is that most people do achieve reasonable control over their seizures and can thus be said to "manage their epilepsy" well.

A necessary first step is to understand what is

going on – and to know that you are not alone.

A word to some special families ...

Many families I met, interviewed, or heard about, talked openly about the difficulties they faced and gave me many of the practical suggestions for my first book – Coming to terms with Epilepsy - most of which I have retained in this new publication.

Heather, whose husband Max's story is so important to this book, said to me of that first book, “I hope you'll have something in your book for the families”. I did - and it was “Thank you”.

This time, it’s the whole book. Epilepsy in the Family has come out of 18 more years of living with epilepsy – or simply, living – and is offered to you with a renewed concern and deeper understanding.

Myth!

Epilepsy is a "sacred" disease, or is caused by "devils"

Wrong.

In some cultures these ideas persist, but the great doctor Hippocrates identified epilepsy 1400 years ago as having "a natural cause".

It was a brain disorder, he said, and it was possible that it could be managed and controlled. Modern treatment has proved this to be true.

If there is epilepsy in your family, you’ll know that epilepsy means a pattern of seizures – and those seizures may be of different types. Yet it’s true that general discussion is more often about seizures since they are the first and obvious signs of epilepsy. Someone with little knowledge of epilepsy may well think that the type of seizure formerly called grand mal is all there is to epilepsy.

The fleeting “absences” of childhood, the myoclonic twitches and the enigmatic complex-partial seizures may therefore be dismissed as inattention, fidgeting, intoxication, if they are noted at all.

So understanding the condition we call epilepsy first requires a sweeping away of past misconceptions and a willingness to look beyond what is seen to what is happening — hidden within the human brain.

Some very useful sites:

www.epilepsyaustralia.com.au

www.epilepsy.org.au

www.epinet.org.au

www.epilepsy.com

www.ibe-epilepsy.org

www,epilepsy.org

Epilepsy in the Family (rrp $29.95) is available:

For order at any Angus & Robertson store, Australia wide.

Through BookPal's Print on Demand: visit

http://www.bookpal.com.au

For bulk orders directly from the author by emailing

info@epilepsyfamily.com.au

An eBook will soon be available for purchase from this site!