Woman wants people to know how to help others with seizures

'You don't need to be afraid'

STERLING – Stephanie Lange wants people to know that epilepsy is not something to be feared: There are simple steps that should be taken when someone is having a seizure.

Not enough people in the Sauk Valley know what epilepsy is and how to handle a seizure, said Lange, 34, of Sterling, who was diagnosed 3 years ago.

She has no family history of the disease, and there were no warning signs prior to her first seizure.

“One day, I was subbing at Franklin (Elementary} School, teaching a first-grade class,” she said. “I’m not sure what happened – next thing I knew I woke up in the emergency room kind of wondering, ‘How did I get here?’”

At the time, she did not even know what a seizure was.

“They explained to me what happened. In the middle of my lesson, I fell and convulsed on the floor,” Lange said. “And that’s how it all began.”

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures or convulsions over time.

Lange hopes that by speaking about her condition, she will help alleviate fears about people with epilepsy and raise awareness of how to react if you see someone having a seizure.

Her children – Amaya Allen, 12, Tyra Allen, 10 and Drake Allen, 9 – are now well aware of what to do:

“Check if they are eating something,” Drake said.

“If there is anything in their mouth, take it out,” Amaya said.

Then put the person on their side, Drake chimed in.

Cradle the head and time the seizure. Call 911 only if a lasts longer than 5 minutes, Lange said. Epilepsy is not contagious, and people cannot swallow their tongues during a seizure.

Once, she and a friend were dining at a local restaurant when she had a double seizure that lasted 9 minutes.

“Nobody knew what to do. They were running around [asking] ‘What’s going on?’” she said. “Nobody knew first aid for a seizure. Nobody began timing it to know when to call the ambulance.

“Finally after 9 minutes, the waitress said, ‘Do I call 911?’”

Another incident in May 2009 left her with scars that are a constant reminder of the unpredictability of her condition.

“I was either putting dinner in or taking dinner out of a 450-degree oven. I had a seizure and fell right in,” she said.

Luckily, her children came to her rescue.

“The kids had to pull me out of the oven and call 911,” Lange said. “Thank God my kids knew what do to.”

Lange’s seizures have become more frequent, and she no longer can work or drive. She hasn’t responded to medication, and now has an implanted device that stimulates the vagus nerve by sending a wave of electricity to her brain, to bring her out of her seizures faster, she said.

“Everyone’s afraid of me now,” she said. “People kind of steer clear of you. People don’t want to go places with me just in case I have a seizure. They get nervous.

“If you know what to do during a seizure, you don’t need to be afraid.”

What is epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy.

A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime during his or her life.

Source: The Epilepsy Foundation, www.epilepsyfoundation.org