Julia Browning has a story to tell.
"I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 12. Our best guess is it came about as a result of a bike accident — I was wearing a helmet but had a head injury. I started having staring spells that would last a second or two — but I had lots of them."
Browning says she may well have had epilepsy all along. Her grandmother remembers Browning had "lazy blinks" as a baby and there are home videos of her shaking her head in the sun.
"I never did well in the sun," Browning says.
Then there's the possible genetic link. "We do know my father's brother and father's father had seizures."
So the bike accident may have simply caused the seizures to become more prominent.
"We'll probably never know. With about 70 percent of people with epilepsy, they don't know what caused it," Browning says.
Today, Browning, 27, is living a happy, normal life, but a life with epilepsy.
She works as regional liaison for state work force training grants for the Department of Labor. She's been married for five years and is expecting their first child — a boy — in January. Browning also is on the board of the Idaho Epilepsy Foundation, and she's working on two upcoming fundraising events that will benefit the foundation called Sharon's Ride. Run. Walk. for Epilepsy and a dodgeball tournament.
Jennifer Martindale, a volunteer member of the board, said both events are planned for the family.
"We're going to have a big party after the ride/run/walk," she said. "With the dodgeball event, you can get your entire family or fellow workers on one team."
Martindale became involved with the foundation because she has a 5-year-old son with epilepsy.
"He just all of a sudden had a seizure when he was 3," she says. The seizures began sporadically, then spiked at about 100 a day. With medication and diet, Martindale says her son's seizures are now manageable. He enjoys everyday activities and loves going to school.
"When you're in the middle of it, the whole scope of your world changes. I do a lot with the foundation now because as a parent I know what it's like not to have any peers to help deal with it," Martindale said.
Diagnosis: EpilepsyEpilepsy is a condition in which the brain produces sudden bursts of electrical energy that disrupt other brain functions. About 181,000 cases of epilepsy are diagnosed annually.
When Browning began having the staring spells at 12, her mother took her to a pediatric neurologist, who set up an electroencephalagram, or EEG.
"There wasn't any question — I was having seizures," Browning says. She was diagnosed with absense epilepsy and immediately put on medication. This type of epilepsy, pronounced "absons," is one that doesn't cause intense or noticeable seizures.
"I was really, really lucky. The first drug they put me on, it stopped my seizures cold. I had one seizure as I was going out to get the mail. And that's the last seizure I had."
Others who have epilepsy have a more difficult time with the medications.
"They're designed to mess with your brain. They can turn you into a zombie or cause you to gain weight," Browning says. "I was lucky. I didn't experience any of those side effects."
Since then, Browning has lived with epilepsy — and medication — nearly nonstop.
"There was a time in high school when we took me off the meds to see what would happen. And I did OK.
"When I was a senior, I had an EEG that came back pretty abnormal. Sleep deprivation, stress and alcohol can be triggers for seizures and I was getting ready to go to college — and we all know what happens then," Browning says, laughing. So, back on the meds.
Since then, Browning lives with epilepsy. She says all her friends and work mates are aware of her condition and accept her wholeheartedly.
"But the first thing people assume is you'll fall down and shake all over. If I had one (a seizure), you probably wouldn't know it," Browning says.
And what, exactly, does having a seizure feel like?
"It just feels like… the lights go out in your head," she says. "I used to tell my teachers I lost my place when I was reading aloud in class. When your seizures only last a few seconds, it's easy to cover it up. But nobody has ever treated me different or weird. My friends always knew I had epilepsy. My teachers always knew. And when you're a teenager, you don't want to be different.
"Even though everybody might know, you still don't … you just don't want it.
Browning says while she hasn't had too many difficulties in dealing with people about her epilepsy, she's seen others who have.
"It's amazing to me that the misconceptions still exist. It's an evil cycle — the misconceptions, the stigma. It's tough.
"I've dealt with people, I know people who, they can't drive. And not being able to drive leads to other difficulties. It affects what kinds of jobs you can hold down. It just snowballs.
"But I'm one of the luckier ones," Browning says.
Other treatments include a special diet and a nerve stimulator.
Browning says she tries not to worry about her baby — if the medication is harmful, if the epilepsy will be passed on.
"I haven't thought about it that much. I try not to think about it," she says, then stops for a moment.
"I have thought about it, though. With my grandfather and my uncle and me, I can't help but wonder if there's a hereditary link. But I'm not pre-occupied with it.
"You can drive yourself crazy with the ‘what-ifs' and it doesn't do any good. I've always had fabulous doctors and an amazing team of doctors right now. My neurologist sees me every few months.
"And I asked my OB if she was concerned and she said, ‘Not really. As long as you keep it under control, I'm not worried about it.' "
Jeanne Huff: 377-6483
