Seizures

[caketastydelish]

I was going to give my student a piano/synthesizer lesson today at my college campus when he started having a seizure. He has told me before he has a history of seizures but I have no experience with them.

He started having one today right by the back door of the music hall of the campus and no one else was around, so I called 911 and they came with the fire truck. I gave them all the information I had on him which wasn't much, but better than nothing.

Apparently he fell head first onto the concrete and I could have prevented that, but it all happened very fast and again, I haven't had any experiences with someone having a seizure other than this time so I didn't really know what to do.

I'm glad I was there though, because since this is a very isolated area of the college, no one else would have made the call for a long time and I called very fast as I saw the seizure happening.

Have any of you had any experiences like this?

 

[CavLancer]

Drove an ambulance decades ago and had experience with all sorts of stuff.

Don't beat yourself up for not catching him when he fell, it can be next to impossible even with experience. Right out of the blue a guy falls. Did he tell you of warning signs? His movement becoming suddenly erratic or jittery for a split second? Eyes rolling back? Even if he did tell you its still not your fault, just part of life, poor guy. If someone told you its your fault, they're wrong.

 

[caketastydelish]

Well I called the police station later on that day to see what happened and apparently they decided he didn't need to go to the hospital, so I guess he's ok.

Thanks for the words though.

 

[Tahuti]

I have seen a person in the classroom suffering from a seizure once. I was like 10 at the time and she was around my age as well. Teacher helped her though. Everyone in class was a bit shocked, me included.

 

[CavLancer]

If you ever see someone hit the ground hard remember, don't move them. If they have a broken neck you could sever the spinal cord while trying to make them more comfortable. Same with pulling someone out of a wreck. If you have to pull them out do the best you can to keep the head from flopping around.

I watched someone go through a seizure once while someone else tried to put a piece of wood between their teeth to keep them from swallowing their tongue. That was a long time ago, don't know if they still do that. Amazing how much energy the victim expended during the seizure.

 

[caketastydelish]

Oh, I didn't even approach him. But after he hit the ground (or maybe as he was hitting the ground, don't remember exactly) I dialed 911. They came, and after that he was in their hands.

I texted him later today and told him I was the one that dialed 911 and I hope he's feeling better, he told me he's in the hospital at Dallas, Texas (I live in a small town a little over 100 miles away from Dallas).

 

[Borachio]

Yes. It can be an alarming experience. I don't think there's much you can do to help apart from trying to ensure they don't injure themselves further.

Except for calling for help, of course.

I've only witnessed two seizures myself. And I was in no position to do anything at all. Luckily, other people were around.