Under the Surface

I have, once more, dipped my toe into the vast and uncharted pool of published online research articles about epilepsy, this time with a more focussed eye. I thought, perhaps naively, that this would provide me with a simple answer to the question:  Is epilepsy inherited or familial?

The answer to that question itself seems to be, well, questionable or maybe just difficult to wrap my head around. As to the genetics of epilepsy, the numbers and types of genes involved seem innumerable. Under the surface, there are incredible discussions about pathophysiology, ion channels, and words too long for me to remember and spell in the short time I have to write this.

So often I have heard that there is ‘not enough’ research for some particular question that someone would like answered, or maybe just explored. However, what is being researched is a disease as old as humankind, in an organ that cannot be seen except with technology or after death, and in the neurons and synapses of that organ spread like a webbing far more vast and in depth than the world wide web.

It leads me back to where my feet are, sitting here tapping on my keyboard. I do not  need to know how epilepsy works or why epilepsy is part of my brain. What any person living with epilepsy, including family and community, needs to know is how to live with the form of epilepsy that is present. To be able to practice healthy living, there is need for humility, kindness, respect and fair dose of courage. When those things are not there, then learning to let go of those that cannot offer any support is paramount to developing a healthy pathway in life.

“God grant me the serenity 

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can, 

and the wisdom to know the difference.”

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

Author's note:  Edited July 25, 2024; updated August 19, 2024