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Device gives epileptic
man independence
Published January 15, 2006
Many people don’t think that much
about getting on a
plane and visiting another country. For me, it’s something I wasn’t
sure I’d ever do.
Epilepsy can make travel difficult. The medications can be
disorienting, and seizures can be exhausting and debilitating.
But
last August, I went to Paris to the International Bureau of Epilepsy’s
26th Congress on Epilepsy. The trip was the fifth trip in five years.
My
independence came in 2000 in the shape of a small electronic device
that’s now implanted under my skin, right above the left side of my
chest.
It’s called a vagal nerve stimulator. Manufactured by a
League City company called Cyberonics, the device sends electrical
impulses to the vagal nerve and on to the brain. The electrical
impulses regulate brain function and reduce the chances of a seizure.
Before the VNS, I had about three intense seizures a day. Today, I have
perhaps three small seizures a month.
Before
the VNS, I was afraid to go out with friends, afraid of having a
seizure at a restaurant or a store. Today, I have no fear of going out
to eat or visit friends.
Perhaps the biggest change in my life,
though, is that I have more confidence in myself, and I’ve used that
confidence to try to help others with epilepsy.
But I wasn’t
always like this. Before getting the device, I was in a haze. The
medication I was taking left me disoriented and sluggish. It seemed
like I didn’t have much of a future.
Then I switched medications and got my life together. I said, “Mickey,
you can do this.”
My
mind started to clear and my outlook improved. Finally I had the
medications working, and I felt I was ready to have my VNS implanted.
I was first diagnosed with epilepsy in 1984 at the age of 10.
I
was 26 when I woke up at UTMB with this device inside me. I knew my
life was going to be totally different and with a positive outlook and
support from family and friends.
I would like to see others with epilepsy turn their lives around. It is
possible to do so.
Now
I understand there’s a difference between living with epilepsy and
letting it control my life. That’s quite a big difference.
Mickey Naschke lives in Galveston.
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