EEG: Day 1

I arrived at the hospital early this morning to check in for my EEG; they told me I had the penthouse suite with a view of the mountains, and let’s just say, I couldn’t argue with that! After filling out paper work, I was taken up to my room where they did a quick assessment before attaching the electrodes to my scalp.

I sat down in a chair, and the EEG Technicians started measuring my head so that they could properly mark the places on my scalp where the electrodes were to be placed. 45 minutes, and twenty-something wires later, I was all ready to go. All of the wires that were attached to my scalp were then plugged into this little piece of equipment that goes into what I call, “my purse”. Two cameras constantly monitor me, and whenever I have a seizure, I press this red button that turns the light on and alerts the staff that I have had a seizure.

Five hours later, after cutting my medication in half and trying to stay awake, I finally had a seizure! It was like one of my usual Simple Partial seizures, but a little more intense. The staff rushed in and did the usual protocol: they come in and ask simple questions such as, “Where are you?” and “What year is it?” to gage my awareness. The seizure passed, and it was crazy to think that for the first time in two years, having a seizure was a good thing! I had another seizure about 3 hours after the first seizure of the day.

Recorded Seizure Total Today: 2

I’ve had to acclimate to hospital life:  lying in bed all day, eating three meals a day on a schedule, people coming in and out of the room to check up on me…or that they just walked into the wrong room (it happened more than once)! How I managed to get a 30-minute nap in during all of this, I’ll never know!

This sounds relaxing, but I’ve been stir crazy! I passed the day with James Bond, nail care, TV seasons, and hanging out with my mom; my dad visited later. I had a few moments of frustration today, but I had to realize that this is going to help find where my seizures are coming from.