The Eatonton-Putnam Public Library played host to a seizure awareness and first-aid training session on Feb. 18, led by Dr. Rakale Quarells, a professor and director of the Epilepsy Advisory Board at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. The two-hour program also was endorsed by Emory University and organized by Eatonton native and longtime Epilepsy Foundation advocate Paula Moreland, an epilepsy patient herself.
“One of our goals is to educate as many people as possible. We know we can’t do everybody, but it’s important to educate as many people as we can about the misnomers about what epilepsy seizures are and to educate people on how to take care of people or recognize someone who’s having a seizure,” Moreland said.
“Since I have been on the board at Morehouse School of Medicine, I have been going through different sessions and training with the Georgia Epilepsy Foundation and found there is a huge need in the community for this particular training,” she said, adding that many people can’t even identify a seizure when it happens.
“Even teachers or other educators often don’t recognize a student, a child having a seizure,” Moreland said. “And sometimes law enforcement people don’t recognize someone that they’re questioning or someone in the jail, who’s already locked up, is having a seizure. They can even mistake it for someone being combative when what they really need is help.”
Sixteen people attended the Eatonton training, Moreland said, which opened by defining seizures and explaining that anyone could be susceptible, regardless of age, gender, or race. Also emphasized was having a seizure does not necessarily indicate epilepsy.
“You could be allergic to something that you ate, or it could be a response to a different situation. It could be even depression. Different things can lead to you having a seizure,” Moreland said. “And a seizure is not mental, it’s neurological.”
Regardless of a seizure’s cause or origin, immediate response remains essentially the same, Moreland said.
She explained that anyone encountering someone having a seizure should turn the person on their side, make certain nothing is in the victim’s mouth or blocking their airway and give the person space around them while waiting on emergency medical responders, who should be called as soon as possible, if not immediately. She cautions not to believe blatantly wrong advice like placing a spoon in the afflicted person’s mouth.
“That is a big, big, big no-no,” she stated. “Anyone who believes that desperately needs this training.”
Moreland added that by passing a test with a score of 80 percent or better, most attendees at the Eatonton class earned two-year certification on the spot as seizure responders from the Epilepsy Foundation and Emory. She stressed that almost everyone should be able to attain that score by going through the course.
“We felt very encouraged by the turnout and response and I also want to thank Dr. Quarells and LaChelle Jordan, the manager at the library, for everything they did to make this all happen,” Moreland said.“I brought the opportunity to Eatonton because I am a native and I am an epilepsy survivor and one of the first to receive the implant of a deep brain stimulator to help control epilepsy seizures. I’m not sure exactly when yet, but we’ll be doing another one of these training soon. It’s really something that anyone, everyone, should attend and learn about.”