Epilepsy and driving is a killer

My husband was diagnosed with epilepsy soon after we were married. After going to the neurologist and getting the correct advice and medication, his epilepsy was a part of every day life.

In the beginning he felt he could feel an attack coming on and assured me that when he was driving he could anticipate an episode and was able to react in enough time to pull over, get through the seizure, then continue driving. After two accidents (he was unhurt but the cars were a write-off) I was unconvinced. The neurologist told us that it wasn't advisable to drive but only the Motor Transport Department could cancel his licence. Knowing my husband's pride and independence, even without a licence he would have driven. All the begging and using our children as a way of guilting him into giving up driving fell on deaf ears.

On March 25, 2003 my husband had a seizure behind the wheel, the car became airborne, crossed a median strip and crashed into two oncoming cars. It was so severe that it took 40 minutes to cut my husband out and two-and-a-half hours for traffic to return to normal. On that day I became a widow at 31 and our children, aged 4 and 5, became fatherless. How lucky that no one else was hurt. I am sure I remember that day as clearly now as the day it happened, and those people in the other vehicles involved will remember it as well. Those memories are etched in their minds as they are in mine. 

If you are someone who continues to drive and have epilepsy, STOP! It is selfish, and if you think you have a handle on it or it won't happen to you, you are kidding yourself. Not only can you kill yourself but you can kill other innocent people. Think of this image while you drive with epilepsy –  a 4 and 5 year old being told that their father, who was coming home to them, will never come home to them again, and seeing their tears every day for months after, and their pleas to have their dad back which are always answered with a, "Sorry darling, Daddy is gone", because of his lack of thought for the WHAT IF?

My children will never celebrate Fathers Day, or have their father enjoy their triumphs. Memories and photos with him stop in 2003 and the only time they remember his voice is when I play a video for them. My husband was a loving man and a great father, and was willing to help anyone. He just believed he could control his epilepsy, which was his failing in the end. Epilepsy beat him and left a huge gap in the lives of all those who loved and knew him.

Don't let it be you who I read about next. Is driving with a medical condition worth your life? 

Missing you Dan, my loving brother

Forgotten heroes