Since it’s now Epilepsy Awareness Month and I have yet to really share one of my seizure experiences from my own point of view, I figure this would be the perfect time for such a story. This is about the time I got arrested in early 2001. I had just left for film and photography school in Santa Barbara called Brooks Institute of Photography. I had been out at school a little over a month and was still trying to balance living on my own, stress from a demanding school, and taking care of my epilepsy. It had only been a few months before I left for school that we discovered that I would NOT grow out of my pediatric epilepsy. It was here to stay so I needed to go back on medication. Up until this point, I had taken Depakote and had been seizure free for over 4 years. One of the major and most common side effects of Depakote was weight gain and my parents and I decided that I didn’t want to have to deal with the potential weight gain in college. My neurologist decided to put me on a low dose of Lamictal and see how I responded. It didn’t work out as planned.
As I mentioned before, I wasn’t even two months into my collegiate career when I had my first breakout seizure. It was the perfect storm of: inadequate sleep, high stress from school, poor eating habits, new medication, and heavy cigarette smoking. I was clearly not taking care of myself.
It was around 9pm, I was driving home (I know, bad idea already but I hadn’t yet realized that I was having seizures) from Santa Barbara 30 miles South to where I lived in Ventura after a long day of editing my final project for my first film class. I knew something was wrong but I just thought that I was really tired, so I decided to stay in the slow lane of the 101 freeway. Everything was going fine until the Ojai freeway exit lane came up in Ventura and I couldn’t react fast enough to get over. So, I ended up on highway 33 until I got off at the next exit about 2 miles up the highway.
By this point I had no idea where I was. The next few minutes was just darkness (I will probably say that quite a few times because since I was in my dazed state, I can only remember bits and pieces of this particular night). The next thing I knew I was parked in the VONS parking lot at the cross street of Ventura Avenue and Main St with my engine still on. I sat in my car for I don’t know how long. The next thing I knew, I had to use the bathroom. Badly. So I walked into the Burger King that I was parked next to and started walking towards the bathroom. The janitor told me that they were closed for another 3 hours and I would have to wait or go somewhere else. The next 30 seconds: darkness.
The next thing I remember is that I’m in the Burger King trash enclosure relieving myself. Darkness for an unknown amount of time, an hour maybe. Next thing I know, I’m driving down Main street towards the 101 North onramp. I look over in my passenger seat and a hitchhiker was there telling me to “flip a bitch.” Confused, I pulled a U Turn and drove away from the 101 on ramp. Darkness for unknown amount of time, possibly another hour.
I “woke up” to find the hitcher gone and my car parked on the side of the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) and I was somehow in the passenger seat of my car as well and it had begun to rain. All of a sudden, there was a knock on my window. Darkness. The Highway Patrol officers were asking me questions.
“Have you been smoking crack sir?”
“No,” I answered. Darkness.
“Have you been drinking?” cop #1 asked.
“No sir,” I answered after awhile. Darkness.
“Please blow on this sir,” said cop #1.
I put my mouth on the Breathalyzer tube and bit down, but did not blow. I was soaking wet and the cops were confusing me.
“Please cooperate sir or we will have to take you to the station. Do you understand?” Said cop #2
“Yes!” I said. Darkness.
I was in the back of the police car, handcuffed and in a little pain (interesting side note, my wrists are still jacked up from the handcuffs). They definitely don’t mess around. Years later a cop friend of mine said he likes to tell people the reason why the handcuffs are so tight is that they’re new and they need to be broken in somewhat. Darkness for an indistinct amount of time.
When I came to, I was in a hospital bed with a neurologist looking over me. He was asking me all sorts of questions like, “Do you know where you live?” and “Do you know were you are?” and “What is your name?” I didn’t know the first two questions. I thought I was still at home in Boulder, CO. I was however able to get my name correct. When the neurologist was finished asking me questions and giving me drugs (ATIVAN), there was more darkness. When I came to, I really had to use the bathroom again. So, I got up out of bed and started walking around. The nurse came running toward me and told me that there was a bedpan in my hospital room or more like a curtain surrounding a bed. So I went back and saw a wastebasket and I went in that instead. Darkness. When I came to again, I was dressed in different clothes that the hospital gave me because mine were soaked from the rain that the cops made me stand in for I can only guess over an hour. My friend was waiting for me in the waiting area because my mom called him to pick me up from the hospital.
I guess what happened was, while I was in the back of the police cruiser, they searched my wallet and found my medic alert card and realized what was going on, so they took me to the ER, where they pumped me full of drugs to counteract the seizure. Unfortunately for my wrists, I was more than likely confused about the handcuffs so it’s very possible that I tried my hardest to free myself. It’s also CHP policy that once anyone is in cuffs, they aren’t released even if the apprehended person isn’t dangerous or needs to go the hospital. Looking back on it now, I am very lucky that I ended up in the hospital rather than jail or dead. There are so many things that could have gone terribly wrong and for some reason, I was able to walk away unharmed.
Below is a link from google maps of my adventure.
- Starting point. Film campus on State Street in Santa Barbara
- After taking the wrong exit on Hwy 33 North towards Ojai, CA I got off on the Stanley Ave exit in Ventura.
- VONS/Burger King Parking Lot where I spent an unknown amount of time sitting in my car.
- Location when I realized I had picked up a hitcher and he told me to flip a u-turn.
- Final location. Somewhere on the Pacific Coast Highway North of Ventura. I pulled over to the very small shoulder and somehow managed to get into my passenger seat. The CHP showed up and took me to the hospital after questioning me.
Bacon For A Cure T Shirts
Remember, in honor of Epilepsy Awareness Month, I am going to donate money earned for the “Bacon For A Cure” t shirts to the Charlie Foundation, a great charity dedicated to dietary therapy for epilepsy. The Charlie Foundation is the reason why I first became aware of dietary therapy to begin with. To learn more about this great organization, visit them here.