You didn't say (bottom) what 'jurisdiction' you're in  (Canada or the U.S.).
If you're in the U.S. they might have some topics under the Ep. Foundation
of America http://efa.org  wrt.  The Law and Seizures.
   In Ontario, for example, if I were to drive, cause an accident and it
was found that I had Uncontrolled Seizures (I don't any longer),  any Motor
Vehicle Liability Insurance I might have becomes void.  It has not been
unheard of here for Judges to award families of a  Killed 'breadwinner'
settlements that would pay equivalent of their income until they would have
been 65.  Those are people outside of her own vehicle, not just her or her
daughter, and the amounts could exceed several times $100,000.

   With respect to caring for her daughter and around their place, there
*might be support services that they could find out through a Local (to
them) Epilepsy Association.  Some of the sorts of things we used to have in
Ontario were listed under 'Homecare Services',  but so far as I remember
they were oriented more to elderly people or people whose Doctor had
completed the forms saying that they weren't able to care for themselves
alone.   Unfortunately, the fact that she's in the Country, away from such
services that are available in a larger city,  might not be regarded as
something the support service is responsible for --   in other words, they
might expect them to have a place in a city, nearer to support services that
might be provided.
  As I said, the levels of support would vary depending on the Country, but
also the jurisdiction if they were different from State to state or Province
to province.  Each of the Provinces in Canada are responsible for their own
healthcare services, so long as they meet the National Minimums set out at
the Federal level.   I don't know (for sure) if the same applies in the U.S.
or not.  I suspect it does.
******
  Have you spoken to her Doctor?   I wondered if they knew that she had
that level of 'need' and was putting it onto you..  The Doctor might be able
to give you input about the Degree of dependence she might have, and You
could give them feedback on what's happening wrt. You, that I'd be very
surprised, for example, that the Dr. would be aware of...
   That's an area that I haven't seen discussed here (effects on rest of
Family and relatives caused by someone's dependence on relatives for seizure
support, with little or no apparent help from institutions or medical
support as their primary contact).  Perhaps this is a good place to start
that discussion.

 Any information you find out, if this thread develops, and approximate
area you live, might be of interest to others who read the group but don't
post often, and since this is an International Board, some of the replies
you get might be specifically what's done in the various jurisdictions
represented and more for general information to you, than necessarily of
direct help.   We have members in Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand, as
well as North and South America.   Just so ya know.

   Also if we knew the approximate area you live-- Ontario versus Nebraska,
there might be others who are aware of support aids that you might not be
aware of, that are available to them, and could pass on to them.    G./

Hi.
The subject of driving with epilepsy is one which comes up occasionally on
this newsgroup and there are those who feel it's ok and there are those with
first hand experience like myself, who know it's not. Those who have been
around this group for a while will have heard me say this before...
I've been having seizures for 31 years now - since I was eight years old.
When I got my drivers license they didn't ask if I had epilepsy, so I didn't
tell them. I could always tell when a seizure was coming because I would get
a simple partial before the complex partial hit. During the simple partial I
just experience a feeling like an adrenalin rush, dizziness and a feeling of
detachment.
So I drove my car just fine - when I felt a complex partial coming on I
would have plenty of time to pull over and stop.
This lasted almost 20 years, but epilepsy has a tendency to change without
warning you first. I was driving along in town and a complex partial seizure
struck with no warning whatsoever, so I had no time to pull over. My car
left the road and hit a pedestrian standing on the sidewalk. (His name was
Gregg, and it turned out he was the brother of a friend of mine).
Gregg bounced up off the fender of my car, across the hood and his head came
through the windshield directly in front of my face before he flew into the
air and landed about twenty feet away.
Maybe you can picture me - a burly six foot three man, hairy knuckles and
all, waking every morning for several months afterwards, sitting on the edge
of the bed crying, until I could get myself together sufficiently to get
ready for work.
Gregg survived the accident, but his injuries were so bad that a few years
later he killed himself as he felt he couldn't live like that.
That accident changed my life and I can assure you it wasn't for the better.
It also changed his life and the lives of his wife and four young children.
I can tell you it's not fun getting abusive hate mail from the wife of a man
you have killed by your own selfishness in being unprepared to stay out from
behind the wheel. He would still be alive if I hadn't been so cock-sure of
my ability to control my seizures and control my car.

Not being able to drive is a nuisance, sure. But there are far worse things.

Darryl.

What kind of seizures does she have?  In my state, the laws are
outdated.  It doesn't matter (in Wisconsin) what type of seizure
disorder you have, as you initially lose your license until the seizures
are under control.  I know of a few people who have occupational
driver's permits.  There are a lot of seizure disorders where a person's
ability to function, their consciousness is not impaired at all.  Really
need to know the type of seizures she has.  Also, since she is having
problems in the morning I wonder if something could be done to help her
get rid of those.  It might be nothing more than changing the time of
her dosing.  She should talk to her doctor about that.

  She

I live in a rural area where there is no public transportation.  When I
lost my driver's license, I felt like I was under house arrest.  You
can't meet your own needs such as going to doctor's appointments,
getting to church, getting groceries, or anything else if there isn't
someone else around who can drive you.  You can't take care of your
family fully either.  Socialization can be severely diminished, which is
not good for lots of folks from a mental standpoint.

She can't drive so she depends on me to take

It sounds like her husband is working day and night and probably
weekends if he's helping on the farm.  When does he have time to help
his wife out?

 Is there anything anyone

It would help knowing what type of seizures she had and some other basic
information about her symptoms (such as consciousness/awareness).

It's not really your responsibility to be taking your sister-in-law
everywhere all the time.  Is your sister-in-law's husband helping on
your farm???

Barb

Would she not be capable of helping on the farm ?

This would reduce the pressure on both the men and perhaps give them time
for her. Life did go on before there were cars.

Chris L.

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