Thread by @Karynregal

Today is #purpleday. I was diagnosed with #epilepsy at the age of 28 after having simple partial seizures for years. I had tonic-clonic seizures -- what used to be called grand mal seizures -- in my sleep, and never knew.

https://twitter.com/epilepsyaction/status/1375334216616062977

This was diagnosed in a very classy way -- I woke up with a bruised forehead and a broken toilet seat. Things like stroke and brain cancer had to be eliminated. I had just moved to NYC and started writing for @CBSRadio. Bad timing.

There are more than 40 different types of seizures. They are very personal. They have different 'triggers'. Mine are triggered by exhaustion. I had to stop working overnights, and I avoid early mornings, which is difficult in a business that starts at 3am and goes all night.

Thank you, @wbznewsradio for accommodating.

The vast majority of people with #epilepsy can work and live with minimal accommodations.

I chose to be open about this, because it wasn't so long ago people with #epilepsy were committed to psychiatric institutions, not permitted to marry, or considered unemployable.

I appear to have left-temporal lobe #epilepsy, which I was told by my doctors tends to make excellent writers.

BTW, not all of us with #epilepsy are triggered by strobe lights, as about a year after my diagnosis my neurologist in NYC cleared me to attend a @kiss concert at Jones Beach.

Anyhoo, you're asked to wear purple today for #PurpleDay2021. I don't own anything purple, so I'm going with purple eyeliner.

I haven't had a seizure in 15 years. I almost miss them. They were downright hallucinogenic. I felt like I was in that A-ha video, except with very bad headaches afterwards.

#epilepsy is more common than #AlzheimersDisease, #Parkinsonsdisease, and #ms COMBINED. Please learn what do in case of a seizure. Most seizures are not life-threatening medical emergencies. DO NOT put anything in someone's mouth, ever. cdc.gov/epilepsy/about…

Doctors: When a patient tells you she is feeling odd, maybe don't tell her its just PMS.

I've had seizures on the air, and I thought it was because I couldn't hold together a newscast. That was not true. If you feel odd, or off, ask for help, and don't stop until you get an answer. You shouldn't have to wait to until you're in crisis, like I did.

I'll close by saying only I am allowed to make shake, rattle, and roll jokes, and other associated jokes. Like this:

Part of my diagnois was the insane amount of notebooks, pens, books, and a fully stocked Kindle I brought to NY Presbyterian for the four-day stay where I had electrodes attached to my head while they tried to trigger a seizure. My people do that.

This is not a joke; they were magnificent. The streets would also tilt and fold over, like in Inception.

She did question my taste in music.