Four years ago I was diagnosed with nocturnal petite mall seizers, meaning I don't drop to the floor and flop like a fish, I look more like a deer in headlights if anything. They have slowly progressed and taken my independence during the nighttime for I don't sleep correctly and then if I do it's at the wrong time of night(like 4 am to 12pm, whoops).  Hello my name is Karina Spalding and I like to party, or at least I used to.  Now I have been stuck trying a new medication every few months and breaking down when it doesn't work.

I have this special brain where it likes to be funny and not respond to medication like a normal brain would. First, my doctors will prescribe a med then I have to wait it out with a positive attitude and a big smile then it doesn't work till I'm on the highest dosage, so it's time to move on to the next medication , however, I do not have LGS (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome) a disorder that is normally diagnosed from the ages of 1-5 years old.

Children with LGS have seizures often, and they have several different kinds of seizures.  Not in my case(kind of). When I was first diagnosed I was 14 and it was really out of nowhere. I used to have these clusters of seizures where I would have to wait out about 2-6 seizures in a span of 15 minutes. 

In May of 2017, I had brain surgery placing a Neropacemaker(An implantable device used to stimulate the brain or spinal cord, the electrical energy is provided in pulses at an appropriate rate to inhibit the perception of pain). If you would like to read more about it there is a whole article on my weird distorted brain and what they did in surgery to it. 

I have been looking into getting an alert dog so I could feel more secure knowing that I have a 24h companion if I don't have someone who is aware of my situation. I'm hoping that not only that this will help with my anxiety but my families as well. It is still very stressful knowing that even if my seizures have stabilized and I'm only having them at night driving is still scary in a sense that I have to go with my own instinct and say "yes" or "no" when I feel it is the appropriate time to drive. That is just one example of many, the list could go one forever but then this would be a memoir. 

I just want to end this with a big thank you for your undivided attention and for donating for it is greatly appreciated. Every step is a mile, yes, but its a lot easier with a community behind you helping you along the way. ;) 

Karina