Gary "Schick" Schichner

My situation with the seizures started either in '81 or '82 I really can't remember. It was December 30th and I was married at the time (what a mistake that was and I knew better) and I woke up in the middle of the night and had the strangest feeling head to toe. I felt like I had a bad case of the chills and like I hit my funny bone hard. Remember, this feeling was from head to toe! It scared the hell out of me and I knew I had to wake up the wife who slept like a rock. so I grabbed her side and yelled her name and shook her vigorously saying "wake up something's wrong with me!". She woke up and wanted to know what was wrong. I said that I don't feel right and explained my physical feeling. The next thing I remember was hearing voices and could tell I was on the sofa with my head down and back arched forward. I opened my eyes, but didn't look up, and counted twelve shiny black patent leather shoes, six pair. I then slowly lifted my head up and saw all these cops and paramedics looking back at me. I then asked them "what did I do?" and was told nothing that I had apparently had a seizure. I was aghast.

I was taken to the local hospital and the neurologist I saw for a few months ended up referring me to a doctor at the University of Chicago Hospitals who happened to be the Professor of the Neurology Dept. I had a lot of tests and was sent to Berwyn MRI for, naturally, an MRI of my brain. Those MRI machines were fairly new at the time. Well the MRI confirmed the doctors suspicions.I had what is called and AVM which is short for ArterioVenus Malformation. What it is, is Arteries and Veins on opposite sides of connecting Capillaries that are tied in a knot and have weak walls. This was a birth defect and it usually shows up between the ages of 22 and 26. I was 23 or 24 at the time, 23 I'm pretty sure. The way it shows up is by rupturing and bleeding into the brain tissue which causes a Gran-Mal seizure. That is the type that a person thrashes all about. The best thing to do if you see that is to move furniture etc. that they may get hurt on and call for help. No spoons or anything else in mouth.

After having MRI's for the next several years to see how the damaged area looked they showed that it was getting smaller and finally was healed. One would think that I would be fine now but I still have the Absent Seizures even though I'm taking medicine for them. I was told that I would have them probably for the rest of my life. I kept asking the doctors what was causing the seizures and the would tell me that they weren't sure. Finally, when I had to see a specific doctor that Social Security wanted me to see I asked him. He told me that the good brain tissue pulls on the scar tissue which triggers a seizure. Finally, an answer! He also said that I'll probably have the seizures on and off for the rest of my life. There's no pattern to the seizures, I keep track of them with the help of others to write down the date, time and length of them for me.

On Oct. 24 this year I was visiting my sister and didn't realize I missed a couple of doses of medicine and had my second Gran-Mal seizure. She kept me from getting hurt and called 911. I was low on both of them and the one that I was below the range I should be in (mg per ml of blood based on my weight) they gave me through the saline solution IV. We spent 6 hours at the hospital most of which I was either sleeping or unconscious, a little of both I think. I also had a couple of Absent seizures at the hospital and a couple the next day at my sisters. I have missed a dose here and there before without any problems. I think I just missed a dose, actually one pill of the two medicines, Depakote and Tegretal, too many days too close together. I do not want to do that again for sure!

I apologize for being so wordy and this being so long.

Gary

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