Thank you so very much.
Until this morning - that's right - this very morning.
I had not considered
exactly who I was grateful to
at the beginning
of this journey with this neurological condition of epilepsy.
My very first thought was my incredible gratitude to Gary Ward, who, as my very young husband, was beside me when that first grand Mal seizure shook our lives so horrifically. We were 19 and 21, new parents of a darling baby boy. That seizure, and other seizures that were to follow, destroyed or fragmented many family events, social events and memories.
Gary, I never felt shame from you, or that you were embarrassed by me, about the epilepsy that has been my constant companion and has rocked our lives so very badly. You worried about your small family ~ this I know. You did not like your situation in so many ways.
And yet... I felt no shame. This disease still carries a huge stigma in society ~ you gave me the enormous gift of normalcy ~ one of the stalwarts of my life.
“Praise the bridge that carried you over.”
~ George Colman
Addendum re: terminology
grand Mal seizures are now tonic/clonic or Generalized Tonic-Clonic (G.T.C.)
Author's note: Edited January 28, 2024
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