Kim Chapman , an news anchor at the ABC-TV affiliate in Jacksonville, Florida has had a few small seizures on the air. Grand mal and petite mal seizures are now called generalized tonic clonic seizures and absence seizures, respectively. New surgical techniques are discussed, including one used on 15-year old Amber Ramirez who has Rasmusen's Syndrome. She had the entire left hemisphere of her brain removed. Dr. Sheridan explained some left brain functions had already being transferred to the right side of her brain.
Absence seizures can take many forms, depending upon which part of the brain is affected.
Because of that epilepsy can be difficult to diagnose. Dr. Sheridan talked about a Ketogenic diet, extremely high in fat and almost no sugar, which can dramatically improve seizures in children. The Epilepsy Foundation has a Women's Health Initiative which produces Fact Sheets for women with epilepsy and their health care providers. Fall Down which looks at a Hmong child with epilepsy who lapsed into a vegetative state at the age of four. She did this case study because it represented the most dramatic example of culture clash and miscommunication between an immigrant family and health care providers.