MIND
WELLNESS
Faces of epilepsy Two brave women refuse to let their condition put a damper on life. STORY: JAMES COMBS
pproximately 3.4 million people in the U.S. live with epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Depending on what part of the brain seizures originate from, patients can experience symptoms ranging from falling to the ground in convulsions, to falling into an unconscious state. Fortunately, with correct diagnosis and treatment, most patients can live a normal life. Just ask Heather Knorr and Emma Ethington, Lake County residents who were both diagnosed with epilepsy at an early age. “Seizures are terrible. I’m fatigued. I get bad headaches. I sleep for a day or two afterward. It feels like you’ve run a marathon because every muscle contracts at the same time during a seizure. It’s mentally and physically draining,” Heather says. While the unpredictable disease has brought hardships for both, Heather and Emma have learned to live each day with a grateful heart and refuse to let epilepsy get in the way of bettering themselves. M EET H EATH ER
Four-year-old Liam Worfel never panicked. Not when his mother unexpectedly fell to the ground. Not when she began shaking uncontrollably. Not when she failed to respond to his pleas to wake up. He did what he was taught to do in the event his mother, Heather Knorr, had an epileptic seizure. The boy grabbed his mother’s cell phone, called his
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grandmother and described what was happening. His grandmother called 911, and within minutes paramedics arrived at Heather’s home. Days later, the City of Mount Dora awarded Liam’s heroic actions. “I’m fortunate he was so brave in that situation,” Heather says. “However, it doesn’t seem fair that my son had to see me in that condition.” Life hasn’t always been fair since Heather was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 13. The condition triggers a severe type of seizure known as tonic-clonic, which cause sudden surges of electrical activity in her brain. She drops to the ground, endures painful muscle spasms and loses consciousness. Throughout the years, Heather’s seizures have struck at the most inopportune times: shopping in a grocery store, attending church, jogging on hiking trails and during work. She has limited time to react and safely position herself. “Thirty seconds before a seizure strikes, I feel an aura, which I describe as an out-of-body experience,” says Heather, a 25-year-old Leesburg resident. “I get a strange taste in my mouth and feel like I’m no longer in control of my body. I do my best to lay down on my left side and try to protect my head. If anyone is around me. I try to alert them.” Sometimes, there is no warning. Heather falls fast and hard, which has resulted in whiplash, popping her jaw out of socket and hitting her head. A postictal state – where she loses consciousness for several minutes – follows each seizure. “Being in the postictal state means I’m not tense anymore but I’m not awake,” she says. “I stare into space and I’m non-reactive.”
