Jeff’s Journey
Originally Published April 27, 2014 (Submission Copy)
Jeff Christian was a sports fan. His favorites were our beloved Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago White Sox, and the Dallas Cowboys. He was a father of young “Jeffy” who is 12 (as the family calls him, although, now he would prefer to be called Jeff). The older Jeff Christian had epilepsy. Sadly, Jeff passed away at 40, from epilepsy.
People don’t know much about epilepsy. The Epilepsy Foundation website http://www.epilepsychicago.org provides: “Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. It’s also called a seizure disorder. When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy. A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. One in ten adults will have a seizure sometime during their life.”
Seizures can have multiple symptoms, including convulsions, loss of consciousness, or others that are not always recognized as seizures by the person having them or by health care professionals. Symptoms may include blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements in the arms and legs. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes.
A neurological disorder, epilepsy is the fourth most common, after migraine, stroke, and Alzheimer’s. It is more prevalent than autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease combined. Despite its commonness, and the fact that major advances in diagnosis and treatment have been found, epilepsy is among the least understood of major chronic medical conditions.
According to the website, there are 65 million people worldwide with epilepsy. Nearly three million people with epilepsy reside in the United States. Over 130,000 people in the Chicago area have epilepsy. One in 26 people in the U.S. will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. 150,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. every year. Unfortunately, 50,000 people die from epilepsy-related causes in the U.S. every year.
When asked how Jeff was diagnosed, his mother, Beverly Christian tells of how her sister, Nancy, was watching a then five-year-old Jeff. “He ate lunch and asked to lie down. His sister, Michelle, came and told Nancy that Jeff was doing something funny. His lips were blue, but at this time, we didn’t know that it was a seizure. Nancy called an ambulance and the paramedics worked on him for a long time. He had a nurse with him for the first 24 hours; we almost lost Jeff that day. The doctor confirmed that he had epilepsy.”
To memorialize the life of Jeff Christian, family and friends have assembled a local team, aptly named Jeff’s Journey, that will be participating in the May 10th Epilepsy Foundation Event. Runners, walkers, and others will participate in the 5Kwalk/run event at Chicago’s Montrose Harbor. To donate or participate, click the link: http://epilepsychicago.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=5730
The family spent time in front of “Running For Kicks” on Saturday, April 19th in Palos Heights, accepting donations from people visiting the shop. Store staff was honored to arrange for those close to Jeff to talk about epilepsy with people popping in to shop for merchandise.
They wish to educate people about the seriousness of epilepsy. From seizures to what actually happens to the brain during an episode, far too many are not aware of the signs, symptoms, and treatment options available. Mrs. Christian spoke about Jeff, and his struggles with epilepsy. “Jeff struggled his entire life. He had many Grand Mal seizures. When Jeff had seizures, I feared what may have been happening in or with his brain.”
She added, “I (as a parent) was not even aware how serious this condition could become.”
The family has a mission, and Beverly Christian stated it best, “I want to take this time to educate people on epilepsy because people just don’t know about it. Jeff would have wanted that.”
Jeff’s son, Jeff Jr. contributed this very moving piece:
“Jeff’s Journey –
“Let me just start out by saying my dad was the most intelligent person you would ever meet. For example, he could talk to everyone and anyone he met and start up a full-blown conversation with them.
“He was one of the most loving and caring people, it is just that he didn’t really know how to show it, but that is what everybody loved him for.
“He had struggled with epilepsy ever since he was five and constantly we would have been woken up from a phone call that my dad had another seizure. And it broke my and everyone else’s heart that the last phone call we received on Nov. 7, 2013, was that my dad was pronounced deceased from a very bad Grand Mal seizure.
“I ask that who ever reads this understands what we have gone through, and takes a moment to think about this terrible disease.”