Yesterday, a little after 5:00 pm, Matthew had his 4th Grand Mal Seizure. Apparently this is not uncommon in Autistic Teens but that doesn’t make it less scary. If you have never witnessed someone having a Grand Mal, there is no way I can describe it. Even as I watched him and I knew it would end and he would be fine, there was a part of me that just knew I was going to lose him right there. It is a terrifying experience even when you know what to expect and what to do.
This morning, as I was going through my Google Reader I saw this post on Age of Autism about Autism Insurance Discrimination. It is a call to action from Elizabeth Emken, the Vice President of Government Relations for Autism Speaks to contact House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid to urge them to end Autism Insurance Discrimination.
When Matthew had his seizure yesterday, it was by far the worst one and he had some “mini” seizures right after. It was also clear that he had hit his head on the bathroom sink. Matthew has an extremely high pain threshold, something has to hurt really bad for him to say anything. So the Paramedics didn’t trust that he was ok when he said nothing hurt and put him in a collar and on a board as a precaution. Thank God we have insurance for him through his Father and I knew there was help when we needed it.
It was a terrifying experience but Matthew is fine this morning. My nerves are shot but he’s fine! I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had to stop and say, “I can’t get him help, I don’t have insurance.” He hit that sink hard, I heard it from downstairs. He hit his forehead hard enough to have a small cut over his eye and a lump on his forehead. He could have been seriously hurt (I’m trying not to think of Jett Travolta but two of Matthew’s seizures have been in the bathroom).
Whether your Special Needs Family Member is Autistic or not, I ask you to please consider Autism Speaks call to action and help us make sure everyone has access to health insurance when they need it.
And please comment and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Sandy and Matthew
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