The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

When Tim Tebow was one of the faces of the NFL, I often poked fun at him, because his passing mechanics were about as fluid as Donald Trump's speaking. Secondly, I tend to poke fun of any athlete who basically gives a sermon when asked a question by the press post-game as Tebow often did. All kidding, aside, though, I have to give the man credit where credit is due. After making his debut in the Arizona Fall League yesterday, the former Denver Broncos quarterback, while signing autographs, saw a fan suffer a seizure and fall to the ground because of it. Tebow immediately went over to the fan and attempted to comfort him until the paramedics arrived. As long-time readers would know, I've battled seizures for most of my life, and while the removal of a tumor which was thought to be the driving force behind my seizures has all but eliminated them, I still receive auras from time to time. Given that bit of history with such an ailment, I was especially touched by Tebow's ge...

Since I have battled epilepsy for approximately 26 of my 30 years (who knows, perhaps longer), perhaps I'm a bit more sensitive to this condition than most other people. However, I can't for the life of me understand why some people think that seizures or epilepsy in general are funny. I can sometimes understand cracking jokes about certain conditions, such as attention-deficit disorder. I saw a t-shirt which states, "They say I have A.D.D., which I don't understand. Oh, look! A chicken!" I admit, I find that pretty funny and while I don't necessarily find the condition itself to be at all humorous, I also think it's less sensitive a subject than many other conditions, given the fact it's not going to be fatal. That's the crossing line for me between what could potentially be funny without being offensive and going a bit too far and likely hurting others' feelings due to their sensitivities on the condition. I don't hear many jokes re...

Here's a poem I wrote, entitled "Helpless," which can be found on pages 36-37 of my book, "Seasons Come, People Grow: A Poetic Journey" (2006). This poem revolves around my lifelong battle with epilepsy and attempts to give the reader a sense of what it's like to endure a seizure. Living on a timeline, Every sixty seconds in a minute, Every sixty minutes in an hour, Never knowing when it'll come, I try to go about life as I typically would, Relax, smile, and have fun, But tense and saddening emotions come over me, As I'm taken over by someone, I feel it in my head, Everywhere in my body, Wanting it to pass, But knowing what lies ahead of me, My eyes close tightly, My hands clench, Sweat dripping off my face, Feeling like an out-of-body experience, My mind has lost all consciousness, All focus, All concentration, All responsiveness, I lay there like a vegetable, Unable to think, Even though I'm breathing, And am wide ...

I heard the unfortunate news that a friend of mine had a seizure the other day. It's also unfortunate that I've had my share of seizures in my day. The first one I remember was back when I was 6-years old. I guess I had them before that, but I can't remember any of those. It was bizarre talking to my friend after she had her seizure, because no one truly understands what you're talking about if they've never had a seizure before. It's not like stubbing a toe, getting a cold or being rejected by someone or something. We've all gone through those instances and know what they feel like. If I stub my toe in front of someone, they notice it and say, "Gosh, I hate it when that happens," then, they're probably being honest. They probably do know what it feels like, so they can relate. But, seizures are a different ball game altogether. It's so difficult to describe seizures, even to doctors. The descriptions and details are so vague, that some...