SO you like to travel . . . and you have epilepsy. Big deal!
That is no excuse for anyone to choose to stay at home and avoid going out to places and meeting new people like most others.
Serene Low, 49, who hails from Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur ought to know about these things.
She has had nearly a 100 episodes of epileptic attacks since as a child. Several of them were nearly fatal.
But that didn’t stop Serene and her family from visiting China last December.
But a little slipup made the trip for them an unforgettable nightmare.
“We were all excited about our winter holiday which we had been planning for months,” explained Serene to Wheel Power last week.
“I went through our checklist twice to ensure that we had everything: passports, luggage labels, travelling itinerary, etc.
“However it wasn’t until after breakfast in our flight when I realised that to my horror, I had forgotten to bring my anti-epilepsy medication along,” Serene went on.
All she could find was a bottle of a totally new drug in her possession that she had never taken before.
The drug was given to Serene by her neurologist with a strong caution to use it judiciously and sparingly as a sudden change of medication could result in adverse side effects.
“As I had not had fits for over four years owing to my careful daily intake of my pills, I was terrified that I might get one or several seizure attacks in China,” said Serene who has been a strong advocate for people with epilepsy for almost a decade.
“I had no choice but to take the new drug in an attempt to avoid having an attack,” added Serene.
Disaster stuck on the second last day of Serene’s holiday.
Serene fell onto the ground at a tourist spot. Fortunately, her husband and her son were with her when it happened.
They protected her head with her winter jacket and waited until the seizure had run its course.
When Serene came to, she was taken to a nearby coffee shop by her family to rest whilst a small crowd or curiously onlookers watched the whole drama.
Serene was taken back to her hotel room where she managed to get a complete night’s rest.
Despite what happened to her, Serene says she is very lucky to be blessed with a very supportive family who are there for her all the time – during epileptic attacks or not.
She was also very touched by the shop that took her in to care for her after the episode.
Now all the wiser, Serene would like to offer the following simple tips to everyone who has epilepsy and would like to travel:
- Start first with your anti epileptic medication before packing any other items. And of course, make sure you pack the RIGHT medication.
- Make an effort to recheck if someone else had done it for you.
- Never pack your medication into one bag to avoid not having them if your luggage gets misplaced in airports. Have some available in your handbag and backpack as well for quick access.
- Carry extras in case you need them.
- Check the expiry dates of all medication to make sure they stay fresh and last the length of your holiday.
- Always carry your identification card indicating you are a person with epilepsy, details of the types of medication that you are on, including dosage details, who your doctor is, and important names and phone numbers to call in an emergency.
- Inform the travel guide that you are person with epilepsy so that he will be prepared to help you during an emergency.
- Mingle and get to know the people you travelling with as a group. Given any opportunity, share some simple information about epilepsy with them particularly on how they can be of help to someone in a seizure.
10) Stay close to your friends and family who are travelling with you.
11) Stand or stay a safe distance away from lakes, streams, rivers, sea, fountains or waterfalls to avoid drowning during a seizure.
12) Encourage your family or friends to video or photograph you during an attack as this is useful material later for your neurologist in treating your condition.
For more information on epilepsy, please visit: www.epilepsylegacy.blogspot.com
Or email Serene at shrine32002@hotmail.com
The End
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