Epilepsy is a very common condition for many children in the united states. It tends to be energy consuming for such families, when one of the family members experiences such condition. It is also a topic not in favor of being discussed even though there has been a lot of rising medical research on it, overtime. It results from electrical disturbances in the brain. Nora Leitner is a 12-year-old girl who has epilepsy. She is an individual that requires her parents support at all times. It is very hard for someone her age to go through such experiences, most specifically that her seizures occur without warning. One quote mentioned in the article was, "When she seized at the top of a staircase in her home in Yardley, Pa., it was plain luck that her parents were at the bottom and caught her as she fell. Though she is on the brink of adolescence, she is rarely, if ever, left alone." This quote can demonstrate how dangerous it is for someone that has epilepsy to not be provided the sufficient care they require and the need to be put under supervision at all times. Especially at the stage of adolescence where the time many individuals tend to feel that they're grown and no longer need to depend on their parents. It can be frustrating for her and lead to other serious mental conditions such as bipolar and depression, since she feels that she can't survive on her own. At a young age like that, the disorder can be very deadly. Nora's case is also unique since her seizure involves all of her brain and not just a specific area, which is why she is unable to have surgery (to remove the affected area of the brain). Her parents and siblings claim that her condition has become the center of the family's decision making. Over time she has gotten placed on two medications which were Depakote and Topamax. These medications have been shown to help her and improve her seizures. When she stopped the dose of these medications, she went back to having seizures but not as severe as they used to be.

What did you find interesting about the article?

What I found interesting about this article is the ability to have seizures before even being born, as it mentioned in the article, "Looking back, the Leitners think Nora had her first seizure in utero two weeks before she was born." And for her to also be diagnosed with such condition at a very young age is fascinating. It's fascinating to me because I didn't know that was possible since our brain is still developing at that time and it's hard to make conclusions about our brain pattern and development. Technological advances in medicine really have come a long way.

What do you already know or understand about the topic of the article?

Epilepsy occur mostly in high percentage of children in the US, and not every case can be treated. This is based upon the severity of the disorder. It can be energy consuming for many families that are raising a child with such conditions. I can also relate to the stress the family has to go through, such as trying different medications and treatments, and when there is improvement for a span of time she'll go back to seizing. It can be very frustrating since as a parent, one would be doing everything they can in their ability and there is still no improvement. Her mother mentioned that at some point they might have to sacrifice her ability to think in order to control her seizures. This can be such a harsh mental and physical process on one as a parent.

What do you not know or understand about the topic of the article?

I don't understand how such condition can occur fully throughout the brain and not a specific area, and for such individual to still be able to think and have good context and conceptual abilities. It's a bit confusing for me, because if her brain is fully affected by such condition wouldn't that also affect her neuron signaling firing and interaction which leads to affecting different cortexes of the brain thus negatively affecting their abilities to function. I found that confusing, that she is still able to carry out certain tasks and even speak with such condition.

Any other thoughts you had about the article.

As I was reading this article, after every few sentences I would stop and pause and think what if that was me or what if one of my siblings was like that, or what would I do if in the future my child was like that. I think we would all respond by claiming that we would be able to cope with it, but when such circumstances actually take place in our lives our perspective drastically changes. No child should have to go through that, it really affects one's mental health. I read that many children with such conditions grow up feeling excluded from the outside world, and many grow up to committing suicide or hurting others since they were hurt as children. I think we should appreciate life more and not take anything for granted, and be there for our parents because that's all we've got. Every medical case I read upon, the parents were always the ones that experience so much hardships and sacrifice a lot.

Based off the above feedback, and reading the article (Link in the beginning)

What do you now understand after taking Mind Brain and Behavior (Psychology course) ? What do you still not know? Have your thoughts about the article changed?

pur-new-sol

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