Lexington News
Campus News & Events
Live Disease Presentation
When medical assisting student Louise Cooper's assignment was to give a presentation on a disease in her Diseases of the Human Body class, she chose a subject close to home - epilepsy. Louise's daughter, Mary Lou Wagner (13 yrs), suffers from a form of epilepsy know as generalized focal seizure disorder. Louise felt her daughter would be a perfect "case study" for the class by providing a true example of how various illnesses and conditions can be dealt with by the patient and the family. She explained to her classmates that outwardly, few untrained observers would realize Mary Lou is having a seizure. Mary Lou said that during a seizure she can't see and hear. She said, "I feel detached, then I feel tired after I come out of it." Her seizures may last only a few seconds.
Mary Lou's condition is now being controlled by a vagus nerve stimulator - a small, implanted device that provides electrical stimuli to the brain and helps control and prevent many of Mary Lou's seizures. Whereas Mary Lou was experiencing 100 seizures per day, she is now only experiencing 2 to 4 seizures per day. Mary Lou was applauded for sharing her story and also received a National College hoodie for her participation.
Photo: (l to r) Instructor Jane East, students Selena Harp and Melissa Clark, guest Mary Lou Wagner, and students Jamie Stamper, Louise Cooper, Shanietra Bell, and Nikki White.
