Living with and Dying with Epilepsy Quiz

Answer: Bud Abbott

Bud Abbott was a lifelong epileptic. He became a severe alcoholic in a misguided attempt to control his seizures. Sometimes people who have had a seizure appear to be drunk. This led some people to think that somehow the body "got itself drunk" and caused the seizure to stop. Alcohol was commonly used as a treatment for epilepsy.

Answer: Ward Bond

Ward Bond was refused by the military during WWII because of his epilepsy. He had become epileptic in late childhood for an unknown reason. His seizures were fairly well controlled. It was not until after his death that it became publicly known that he was epileptic.

At least once his behavior was passed off as a problem with diabetes. He had been afraid that if it became public knowledge that he was epileptic his movie career would be ruined, and he was probably right.

Answer: Vladimir Lenin

Lenin did not become epileptic until his last couple of years of his life. While the cause is not definitely known, it is suspected that an assassination attempt in 1918, which left a unremovable bullet in his head, may have been the cause. He suffered mental decline, headaches and strokes.

His seizures progressively worsened and he died of status epilepticus. This is a state of persistent convulsions, without periods of consciousness between seizures. Prolonged convulsions will cause brain damage and/or death.

Answer: Prince

Some people will suffer from epilepsy as a child and it will then taper off as the child goes through puberty and disappear completely by adulthood. Prince was diagnosed with epilepsy as a baby but by the time he was a young teenager his seizures had ended.

As an adult he did not had any problems even when performing under flashing lights, which can often trigger seizures in some patients.

Answer: California Congressman

Coehlo served from 1986-1989 as the Democratic congressman from California. He acquired epilepsy after being in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 16. The Catholic church advised him that this would keep him from becoming a priest and the state of California promptly took his driver's license.

There were members of both his family and church who were sure that he was possessed by the devil. He has been very politically active for those with disabilities. He is a shining illustration of the fact that this disorder does not have to control someone's life.

The other choices are also professions and/or people who were epileptic.

Answer: Margaux Hemingway

Margaux Hemingway was the grand-daughter of Ernest Hemingway. She was an example of someone who had epilepsy as well as other disorders that all originate in the brain. Besides seizures, she was dyslexic and bulimic. She also suffered from depression. All of these issues are neurological in origin. Whether or not they were interrelated is unknown, but it is not uncommon for other neurological issues to be present in someone who suffers from convulsions.

Answer: Florence Griffith-Joyner

"Florence Griffith-Joyner" or "Flo-Jo" as she was affectionately known was a world record sprinter who died during an epileptic seizure from asphyxiation. She was not diagnosed until 8 years before she died. During autopsy it was found that she had a congenital defect in her brain referred to as an "cavernous angioma".

She suffered this defect and the resulting seizures all throughout her Olympic years.

Answer: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoyevsky suffered from seizures throughout his life. He included an epileptic character in his book "The Brothers Karamozov" as well as in his novel "The Idiot". It is often speculated that both books were somewhat autobiographical in nature. He passed away from a lung hemorrhage that came about from a combination of emphysema and a prolonged seizure.

It has been hypothesized that there may have been a genetic cause for his epilepsy, as his father displayed abnormal behaviors that were attributed to alcoholism and insanity at the time. Epilepsy was often misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and treatments were often barbaric.

Answer: Alan Faneca

Alan Faneca is a very successful offensive lineman in the NFL despite a diagnosis of epilepsy when he was fifteen. With a career of over 10 years in the NFL and multiple awards he is proof that those with epilepsy can do almost anything that they wish.

His condition is controlled with medication, as is the case with the majority of epileptics. As with many people with epilepsy, the reason for his seizures is not known.

Answer: Danny Glover

Danny Glover started having seizures as a teenager. This is a common time in life for epilepsy to start. He claims that he has developed a type of self-hypnosis that has helped him control his seizures later in life. He would have an "aura" that would come right before a seizure.

It helped him to prepare and try and stop the seizure. Many epileptics have an aura, which may range from a feeling of unease, to sensing a strange taste or smell, or a feeling of a loss of control.