[blkchr91]

It sounds like a game show, but I could use the help.

My father suffered from epilepsy when I was young but refused to admit it. I remember being a kid when my father was driving a stickshift car down a hill. He took a seizure on the way down the hill in crowded traffic and I was stuck with him in the middle of the road until his seizure stopped. He told me he had a toothache. Never would this man admit that he had epilepsy.

What might this be about? Only thing that comes to mind might be that he was too proud to admit it or didn't want anything on a record that could hold him back some way.

Thanks

[missbelle]

maybe both....men are very proud and since it was years ago it was even worse..any illness was a sign of weakness and well, epilepsy..then implied something worse then mental illness.....he felt embarrassed and then maybe not enough known about the illness...and its an illness...to him a weakness of character.....sorry this made him feel this way.....but you know there are still people feeling that way about epilepsy, mental illness etc.....like its a character weakness or something....so sad!

[blkchr91]

Thanks for your thoughts....makes sense. Was a scary experience to be there. World was rocked and there was nothing that I could do.

Originally Posted by missbelle

maybe both....men are very proud and since it was years ago it was even worse..any illness was a sign of weakness and well, epilepsy..then implied something worse then mental illness.....he felt embarrassed and then maybe not enough known about the illness...and its an illness...to him a weakness of character.....sorry this made him feel this way.....but you know there are still people feeling that way about epilepsy, mental illness etc.....like its a character weakness or something....so sad!

[Perna]

My father did something a little similar; when he got older he had to take meds where he could not drink but he wouldn't give up drinking right away; I remember one night that was extremely scary where he was driving and almost having accidents right and left. It must have gotten through to him and/or my stepmother must have intervened because he stopped drinking at all after that.

Think about your own body and how it works and how you think you can/cannot do certain things? I'm getting older now and my body is doing things it didn't use to and just figuring out things, that I'm not "as strong" (how strong was I?) or fast or can't stand or walk for as long a period time; there are so many different possibilities as to "why", could be that your father knew if he did or ate X, he was more likely to have a seizure or if he was stressed or something and he was learning his way around, "Oh, I'm feeling stressed now so I should not drive". That he told you he had a toothache was probably to protect you, so you would not be as frightened? It maybe would/would not happen again but he couldn't know and didn't want others, who would know less than even he, concerned and messing with it, pestering him, etc.? You know how you sometimes just want to deal with your own things you are familiar and comfortable with yourself and not have a big issue made of them?