Front Row Seats – {epilepsy series}

And then there was us. While most parents would send their 22 and 25 year old children to a concert on their own, and worry about what kind of trouble they get into, I knew buying three tickets was a better idea. My dad isn’t a huge Disney fan, so instead I invited my mother to join us.

To be fair, I have already seen Beauty and the Beast on Ice. I was 5 years old, and my Grandpa took me. As a 5 year old I had a 2 year old brother who tended to steal the show. He started having seizures at two months old. Grand Mal seizures, the big ones that knock him out, make his body shake, and at the time could go on for hours. My first memory of John having a seizure was at my grandparents house. I can remember being at the top of the stairs watching the paramedics do their work. I don’t know if I was scared, I suppose my memory has protected those emotions.

Life with a special needs sibling is normal. Mainly because I have no idea what “normal” is for other families. I only know my normal. As a child I loved Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, they had McDonalds, and the playroom had my favorite Little Mermaid puzzle! As a teenager I would look forward to joining my parents in the cities for a Doctor appointment, because it meant going out to lunch, and maybe a stop at the Mall of America.

Throughout the years I have taken a special interest in watching siblings interact. When siblings fight is especially fascinating to me. I don’t know what its like to fight with a sibling. I would sing along to John’s Disney music and he would tell my mom “Katie’s singing (in an tattletale tone)” and he wouldn’t stop telling her about it until she said “Katie, no singing, that’s naughty you ought to know better.” Of course I understood it wasn’t really naughty, but I also knew it wasn’t fair to sing along and continue to torment him.

My family operates a little differently, we all take our turns caring for John, and give each other breaks as we need them. I will stay home on a Saturday night to babysit while my parents go out to dinner with friends. I’m not a saint, I usually have gone out with my friends on Friday night and don’t need another night out on the town.