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Monday, November 2, 2009

"WHAT?! You can die from epilepsy?"

That is the response I get from almost everyone. People are shocked to learn that one can die from epilepsy. I myself was even ignorant. I was always scared that Karissa could die from a seizure but I never thought it would happen. In all honesty, I didn't think one could actually die from a seizure. Shortly after Karissa's death, I remember saying to Mark, "you aren't supposed to die from seizures." It wasn't until we lost Karissa from epilepsy, that I became aware of something called Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy. Sadly, seizures can be fatal, especially the rare status epilepticus, a continuous convulsion lasting longer than 10 minutes. Karissa died in her sleep, the victim of an epileptic seizure. Karissa, like many others, suffered from what is called Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
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Why something needs to be done NOW!

Every year, it is estimated that up to 50,000 deaths occur in the United States from seizure-related causes including accidental deaths and Sudden Unexplained Death from Epilepsy (SUDEP). The mortality rate among people with epilepsy is two to three times higher than the general population and the risk of sudden death is twenty-four times greater. There is an urgent need for more research to determine underlying mechanisms and causes of epilepsy (seizure disorders) and SUDEP so that the risk may be minimized and eventually eliminated. Source: www.cureepilepsy.org


1 comment:

  1. Hi,

    You have progressed very quickly and well with your blog. Congratulations! Yes, SUDEP is real and it is frightening. Most people tend to think of epilepsy as someone falling down for a short while and later recover to be normal again. The truth is people do die from SUDEP although the percentage of SUDEP death is small universally. Personally, the percentage of epileptic deaths are a lot more higher in relevance to the nature of the accident during a seizure. A lot of people drown in bathtubs, swimming, crossing roads, driving, falling from heights, cooking, etc etc.

    I am very proud of your progress in your blog. As my gesture of uplifting you and other people like you, I have joined in your followers list. Your followers list have increased a lot more faster than mine which is good news. People are responding to your blog and that makes blogging so much more interesting and meaningful especially for a good cause like yours.

    God bless.

    Serene Low

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