Between Us

Fay Bachman's Odyssey

By Hollie Green
Special to between us

Bachman and her family after climbing
Picacho Peak in Arizona

The story of Fay Bachman's life with seizures is probably not so different than others. Anyone who must alter their lifestyle to accommodate a disorder of this magnitude and one that is terribly misunderstood by the public, must be determined and self-confident if they are to find happiness.

Bachman's childhood health had been eventful. She sustained a serious head injury at 18 months, and at age 11, battled her way through a coma and near-death to conquer encephalitis. For the next ten years however, life was fine. She was on the brink of adulthood, a student nurse, excited about the prospect of a solid career and someday, a home and family.

At age 19, Bachman's life abruptly changed with the onset of a seizure. Although the first seizure was relatively mild, she could not just shrug it off. The first course of treatment was medication and the advice of her physician to reduce stress levels, and practice sensible sleeping and eating habits - not so easy for someone studying to be a trauma nurse. At least driving was not ruled out.

Still, the young woman asked God many times, "Why does this have to happen to me?" Maybe it was just a fluke, she thought. It was worth the risk to discontinue the medication and hope for the best. Unfortunately, hope was shattered almost immediately each time she stopped taking her medication with the onset of grand mal seizures. Bachman returned to the medication and her seizures remained under fairly good control for most of her '20s.

By age 28 Bachman had married and become pregnant with the first of her two children. Her seizure medication was changed. After experiencing grand mal seizures during sleep, another medication was added to the mix for adequate control. Her emotional state could be described in a word: anxiety. How would these drugs affect the health of her unborn child? A reasonable question it seems but no medical doctor could reassure her. They simply did not know the answer. Their best advice? Do not consider breast-feeding. Fast-forward 17 years - both her 17-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter suffered no ill effects from their mother's prescription drug use while pregnant.

Over the next 10 years seizures continued but, for the most part, were controlled. This situation changed abruptly when Bachman turned 40 years old. Suddenly control was a thing of the past. Complex partial seizures, seemingly related to hormonal changes, raged every month. Bachman had to stop driving - a humiliating and devastating experience - not to mention another huge lifestyle change for a woman trying to live normally and raise a family.

Bachman explored the idea of surgery with physicians at Barrow Neurological Institute. The physicians determined that surgery was possible, that it might improve seizure control, but the downside was the possible loss of speech. The decision was made to continue drug treatment. The seizures continued over the next seven years.

Emotionally, Bachman began to mature and accept the fact of epilepsy. She attended an Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona workshop and met other women with seizures. For the first time she could say, "I have epilepsy," instead of hiding behind the "seizure condition" screen. She also experienced spiritual growth, feeling that God was using her life to help and encourage others who have disabilities.

Bachman volunteered as a telephone mentor for the Arizona affiliate. The master administrator in her rushed forward as she dispatched rides for medical appointments, grocery shopping and the thousand other things for which people need transportation to accomplish their daily agenda. Spouse and friends provided extraordinary support for the times she grew frustrated and embarrassed with epilepsy, and also helped her accept the reality of the condition.

As her seizures grew worse, and her endurance weakened, Bachman again explored surgery options at Barrow Neurological Institute. Advancements in MRI equipment and techniques confirmed that with surgery, she might live a seizure-free life. The decision was not hard to make. Emotionally she was at peace with the idea that after surgery if the seizures were gone or at least less, good, otherwise even death would be okay. If God wanted her life so be it.

At the beginning of the new millennium Bachman entered the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Barrow Neurological Institute where for twelve days she was tested and prepared for surgery. Surgery was scheduled for the following month. The neurosurgeon made a small incision in the temporal area of the brain, removed a small circle of bone, and proceeded to remove two parts of the brain deep in the center. These parts affect short-term memory but, what the heck she reasoned, people her age are supposed to have short-term memory problems.

There is a happy ending to Bachman's story. The healing process for this type of surgery is remarkable. Most people return to work after 3-4 weeks. Bachman experienced headaches for awhile and will continue to take medication for about a year but the seizures are gone. She is looking forward to getting a driver's license in about three more months. Spiritually, she is thankful for her healing, but remains faithful to the idea of helping others and allowing God to use her life for this purpose.

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