Travel and Epilepsy—Lessons Learned

I am back from my reunion!  I had a great time seeing all my old friends from high school.  It was good to reconnect and spend some quality time together.  As usual, it seemed to go by too quickly, however. 

The travel to Birmingham, Alabama, where my reunion took place, went smoothly.  However, coming home was another story.  The original flight out on Monday, 10/6, was delayed due to mechanical problems, and then canceled.  The same happened to the flight I was rebooked on later that afternoon.  It was stressful, to say the least,
because we had boarded the flight and then had to get off.  Even though I had the advantage of the wheelchair and kept myself fed and hydrated, all that waiting around was a drain on my energy.  Unfortunately, while I was sitting on the afternoon airplane, I had a complex partial seizure that lasted about three minutes.  I was fumbling with my bag to take my medications when the seizure hit.  The medical staff took my vital signs.  They wanted to take me to the emergency room, but I did not allow that.  By that time, I had fully recovered.

I was rebooked onto a flight for the next day and had a hotel voucher for the night.  Even that was a fight.  Since I was in the wheelchair, I was brought out to the area where everyone was rebooking their flights and getting their hotel vouchers.  However, the person who wheeled me out left me at the side of the room while everyone else was in line.  I had to stand up and approach the person who had wheeled me out--she was now processing people through--and complain that I was left behind.  She realized her error and took care of me right away. 

I finally made it home without any problems on Tuesday, 10/7.  It was so good to be back!

The lessons I took away from this experience was:  (1) assert your rights and (2) inform those around you about your epilepsy and what to do if you have a seizure so they don’t overreact.