This image about epilepsy in honor of a delightful young girl. She, a daughter of a long-time friend, demonstrates the joys of life that each of us want in others and should have for ourselves – and she does that in spite of the trauma of her world. Her medical journey has not been easy on her and her family, but everyone is strong and remains committed with hopes of a positive outcome – thus I wish and pray for strength and blessings to them.
Their family and friends recently participate in a walk for the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation, a group formed in memory of a 16-year old who died unexpectedly of something I never heard of – Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). (Info on the walks in Colorado and Kansas)
The cause of SUDEP is unknown, but it usually occurs at night or during sleep, and studies estimate the SUDEP rate at one death per 1,000 people with epilepsy per year. There is often evidence of a seizure before death … and that’s where the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation comes in as it provides grants for training and placing seizure-response dogs.
Below is a news report on seizure-response dogs. After watching, I recommend seeing this video tribute that the owner prevents me from embedding.
A Frank Angle 
I haven’t had personal experience with seizure detection by dogs (though I have heard of it), but I can personally attest to dogs being able to detect cancer. My mother-in-law had been in and out of the hospital with cancer for years. One time, when we were visiting, our Cattle Dog became very insistent in climbing up on her – something he NEVER did before. He kept laying his head on my MIL’s chest – so much so, she called and made an emergency appointment with her cancer doctor. The following Monday, she was in the room following some X-rays, and he asked what had made her schedule the appointment. He was quite surprised to find out it was our Dingo who made the diagnosis – and he did indeed find a recurrence of her cancer, before ANY other sign had appeared!
Great post, Frank, something we all need to be aware of.
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John,
WOW!!! Thanks for sharing your experiences with animal senses regarding illnesses. BTW – your comment could be a core for a post.
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Great post, Frank, and great story, John, thanks for sharing it. I remembered seeing something about dogs being trained for cancer detection – here’s a link. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/t/story?id=97979&page=1
My dog’s name is Angel for a reason 🙂
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Lynn,
Thanks for the link … and cheers to your Angel! Thanks for visiting!
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We like to think we are the most clever beings on the planet, but the sensory experiences of other animals are beyond our comprehension. Something for us to appreciate and be thankful for.
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Nancy,
As you know, there are so many accounts of animal senses. Simply amazing! Thanks for commenting.
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Adds new meaning to dogs being “a man’s best friend.” Good wishes to your friends and their daughter.
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Paradise,
Well said about dogs … and thanks for visiting.
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What a wonderful and life-affirming post! The statistics gave me pause. We owe a great deal to gratitude to our four-legged friends. All the very best to your friends and their daughter.
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Clanmother,
Glad you appreciated this post. Thanks for commenting.
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I’ve never heard of this Frank. Yet from the statistics, I should be aware. Thanks for the information and video. Miles is cute. These dogs astound me.
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TBM,
Yep … when I read the stats I too wondered. Meanwhile, the response dogs are impressive! But, I wish I could have embedded the video tribute as well. Thanks for stopping by.
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Epilepsy is such a dreadful condition. I know people can die from it but I had no idea there’s a sleep condition like SIDS. It’s amazing how dogs can be trained to be so vital to our care xx
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Spiced,
Well said … so thanks for commenting!
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It is amazing what these dogs are trained to do. They are truly man’s best friend.
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Colline,
Well said … Thanks for visiting.
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Very interesting post. I always say it’s a sad day you don’t learn something, so today isn’t a sad day because SUDEP was news to me, and the stats are quite revealing. I’m a doggie person too, so all is good. Woof, woof!
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Fasab,
Daily learning is a wonderful mantra … and yes, cheers to dogs! Thanks for commenting.
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Thank you so much for sharing this. We have epilepsy in our family and everything which can be done to raise awareness is wonderful. Another woof woof from me!
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Leaping,
Welcome first-time commenter … and on topic from someone who knows the importance first hand. Thanks for visiting and sharing.
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A friend of mine – her sister lives in US and she has a seizure-response dogs for years now. Amazing the dog takes her to the side and if she gets a seizure he puts his head on her chest – met her when she was visting her family in UK . The stories she told me … fantastic – that there is animals that can help us when we need it most.
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Viveka,
I love how this post has brought out personal stories, so thanks for sharing … and I wish your friend’s sister good fortune in the days ahead.
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Dogs are such amazing creatures! I don’t have epilepsy, but I do have bipolar disorder that is, in fact, treated with anti-seizure meds. My dogs love me through all my moods, thank God! Thanks for this post!
Hugs,
Kathy
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Kathy,
I’ve got to agree with that. After all, look at all the ways dogs are trained to do. As another reader mentioned, it’s amazing what animals seem to naturally sense. I recall seeing a news report about a cat in a nursing home who (I think) would jump on the bed of a patient who was about to die. Heck, the nurses used the information! Thanks for commenting.
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Frank, thanks for this post — I have heard of SUDEP and even of dogs detecting seizures and cancer. As a dog lover, I am not at all surprised. Dogs sense everything.
Thanks for raising awareness and best of luck to your friends and their daughter.
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Elyse,
You are one of the few hear that has heard of SUDEP. Then again, you are the med professional. 😉 Agree, the medical side of dogs is impressive. And I’m sure my friends appreciate your wishes. Thanks for commenting.
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Full disclosure, Frank. I am a faux-medical professional. Or is it that I am a medical faux-professional. Yeah, one of those.
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I intentionally left out the faux.
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Faux-medical malpractice is the new goldmine for plaintiff’s lawyers ….
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It’s frightening to hear about SUDEP. I’ve never heard of it before. I have friends with epilepsy in their family, and with medications it’s well controlled, but not without side effects and other problems. Thanks for calling attention to this foundation. Impressive! Debra
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Debra,
It seems that you and I weren’t the only ones who didn’t know about SUDEP. My friends saw the post and they were grateful … which made me smile! Thanks for commenting.
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Thank you for this one Frank! As a sufferer of two types of Epilepsy though I donate to a foundation that trains the dogs and gifts then to children. They are brilliant aren’t they?
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Val,
Nothing better than getting comments from someone with first-hand experience. For me, your words here validates this post. Thank you!
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I was not aware of SUDP. It’s nice to hear the service dogs being able to be so helpful in this regard. I think service dogs are amazing and I’m so glad they can be helpful in this way. I would do the walk if I was in the area of Colorado or Kansas a very wonderful cause.
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Starla,
Because the trek from Ohio to my friends in Colorado is a bit far, this post (along with a contribution) was my way of helping the cause. Thanks for commenting.
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Frank, Thank you for this post! The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation’s main goal is to raise awareness of SUDEP and you just helped them immensely.
It’s pretty scary to have a child with a seizure disorder, but having friends like you make the journey sweeter:) Love from Al, Lorri, Audrey and Sweet Allie!
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Lorri,
Simply my pleasure … and I’m glad it caught you by surprise! Meanwhile, as the comments show, a few more people learned about the problem. Blessings to all of you!
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