The sight of someone having a severe epileptic seizure is hard to forget. The person suddenly cries out, loses consciousness, falls to the ground, or arms and legs jerk convulsively for several minutes. One out of every hundred people in this country has epilepsy.
While in high school, Amber Dorsey, 23, of Hampton Virginia and a friend were driving when her friend lost control of the car as it jumped the guard rail and rocketed into the water. They were both rescued and transported to safety.
On December 26, 2004, she suffered her first seizure. An alumnus of Georgetown University on a full basketball scholarship, Amber had her first seizure in practice after running sprints. “I was tired and I felt light headed,” said Amber. The next thing I know, I woke up in the hospital.
Amber has lived her life as a normal, young adult, doing everything and anything that she wants to do. She enjoys partying with her friends and has a prominent love life of three years. She never looked at herself as being any different from any of her peers did not want anyone to think of her as a charity case. “I am a strong, driven, black woman,” said Ms. Dorsey with enthusiasm. I can do everything that the next woman can do and if I can’t, then I’ll do everything that I can possibly do until I can!
A person with epilepsy is said to have a disorder and can even be classified as having a disability. They have the option of taking un-timed test, getting extensions on their work, and even having a handicap parking pass. For Ms. Dorsey, this seems illogical.
Her first two years with the disorder, Amber suffered from chronic Grand Mal seizures, which means your body goes into convulsions and you shake uncontrollably. The simplest thing can trigger a seizure in an epileptic individual; looking at a lava lamp, a certain smell in the air, hearing a certain song on your ipod, or even having a bad dream. These are all things that caused Amber to have seizures.
At the request of her coach, Terry Flournoy, head coach of Georgetown Women’s Basketball, she insisted that for heath purposes, Amber stop playing basketball. Although uneasy with this decision, she accepted it. “If it was up to me, I would still be playing”, Amber said. But I understand that she only has my best interest at heart.
What one would call a struggle turned into a driving force for Amber. She graduated from Georgetown, in the class of 2005 with a double major in psychology and sociology and went on to work on her Masters degree. At 23, she now carries a Master’s from Radford University in Radford, Virginia and wants to further her education by getting her PhD.
While in high school, Amber Dorsey, 23, of Hampton Virginia and a friend were driving when her friend lost control of the car as it jumped the guard rail and rocketed into the water. They were both rescued and transported to safety.
On December 26, 2004, she suffered her first seizure. An alumnus of Georgetown University on a full basketball scholarship, Amber had her first seizure in practice after running sprints. “I was tired and I felt light headed,” said Amber. The next thing I know, I woke up in the hospital.
Amber has lived her life as a normal, young adult, doing everything and anything that she wants to do. She enjoys partying with her friends and has a prominent love life of three years. She never looked at herself as being any different from any of her peers did not want anyone to think of her as a charity case. “I am a strong, driven, black woman,” said Ms. Dorsey with enthusiasm. I can do everything that the next woman can do and if I can’t, then I’ll do everything that I can possibly do until I can!
A person with epilepsy is said to have a disorder and can even be classified as having a disability. They have the option of taking un-timed test, getting extensions on their work, and even having a handicap parking pass. For Ms. Dorsey, this seems illogical.
Her first two years with the disorder, Amber suffered from chronic Grand Mal seizures, which means your body goes into convulsions and you shake uncontrollably. The simplest thing can trigger a seizure in an epileptic individual; looking at a lava lamp, a certain smell in the air, hearing a certain song on your ipod, or even having a bad dream. These are all things that caused Amber to have seizures.
At the request of her coach, Terry Flournoy, head coach of Georgetown Women’s Basketball, she insisted that for heath purposes, Amber stop playing basketball. Although uneasy with this decision, she accepted it. “If it was up to me, I would still be playing”, Amber said. But I understand that she only has my best interest at heart.
What one would call a struggle turned into a driving force for Amber. She graduated from Georgetown, in the class of 2005 with a double major in psychology and sociology and went on to work on her Masters degree. At 23, she now carries a Master’s from Radford University in Radford, Virginia and wants to further her education by getting her PhD.
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