You have a story to tell, and we want to hear from you. Submit your story and it might just appear on our home page, in our newsletter, or right here in Personal Stories. Don't miss your chance to share your story!

"Don’t Laugh Just Because He Does"
  by: Zach

Not all seizures are controlled. And life with epilepsy isn’t always as great as people whose seizures are controlled would lead you to believe. Medication after medication is tried, and still, nothing seems to work. “I’ve been having seizures since I was about 6 months old,” says 16-year-old Zach. “Pretty much all my life.” The past couple of years have been hard on Zach. As he gets older, the social aspects of having epilepsy get harder to take. “I can’t drive,” he practically shouts. “I try not to let it bother me, but when all of the other kids in my class talk nonstop about getting their license or their learner’s permit, I can hardly stand it.” Those other kids at school, Zach says, don’t get it when he tells them he can’t drive because he has epilepsy. “They don’t know what it is and they don’t care to know.” Zach has two to three seizures a day. He has a less known type of epilepsy called gelastic seizures or laughing seizures. He says he usually doesn’t laugh anymore when he has seizures (he used to when he was younger), but instead smiles, stares and has a tendency to wander off. William just started his sophomore year of high school and is starting to come out of a depression, which has consumed him for the past couple of years. His doctor has started him on an antidepressant and they’re beginning to have an affect. “I really like to draw,” Zach says “and I play a lot of computer games.” He’s also excited about a new series of tests he’s going to have done soon to see if surgery is an option to make the seizures go away. Zach wishes kids wouldn’t be so tough on him and would be a little more understanding. “I have one good friend,” he admits. “He’s pretty good about my having epilepsy. Other kids I know could care less. “And I don’t mean could care less in a good way,” Zach continues. “I mean they don’t care about me, don’t include me and basically make me feel horrible. “It would just be great if more people knew what epilepsy was all about and knew what people who have epilepsy go through each day,” he concludes. Even with all of this, even knowing his seizure will most likely continue for the rest of his life, Zach is really starting to feel good about himself. “I feel good that I can go out and do things,” he says. “I can walk. I can get myself from place to place. And, I try not to let epilepsy be too big a deal.”