‘Appalling’ reaction
ONE in 10 Australians will experience a seizure in their lifetime, yet when Chloe Andrews had a seizure at a popular Toowoomba venue she was shocked at the disrespectful response from other patrons.
Ms Andrews suffers from pseudo seizures, a condition she says is similar to epilepsy.
Two weeks ago, Ms Andrews was clubbing at the Tatts Hotel when she became distressed and had a seizure lasting 24 minutes.
She didn’t regain consciousness until she was being loaded into an ambulance, where she was told about the behaviour of other patrons at the hotel.
“I woke and began with the questions straight away, to find out that multiple people were indeed trying to record the situation of me seizing as well as trying to get up close and see what was going on,” Ms Andrews said.
“What these people don’t understand is that by them doing that it is actually making the situation worse than it needs to be.
“I find it quite appalling, and it is already embarrassing as it is for us having seizures in public, so these people are making it 10 times worse for us.”
For the estimated 30,000 people who suffer from epilepsy the fear of being judged and mistreated during a seizure in public often causes debilitating anxiety.
Educator at Epilepsy Queensland Jennie Ritchie said seizures could often be misunderstood by the public and passed off as behavioural or alcohol issues.
“It is not always the shaking convulsions that people expect, the signs of a seizure also include subtle eye movements, changes in cognitive ability or awareness, falling to the ground or other unusual behaviours,” Ms Ritchie said.
Epilepsy Queensland encouraged everyone to become familiar with the five steps to responding when someone is experiencing a seizure.