Oookay:
I've worked with many people who have seizure disorders over the last five years. I have seen countless seizures. I've been with a person when they experienced his/her first seizure. I had to participate in the subsequent visits to doctors regarding the subsequent diagnosis of a seizure disorder. I am not a doctor, and I wouldn't call myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I know more about seizures than I ever would have expected. I will give my two cents, a lot of which is anecdotal, some of which is straight from doctors. I do not want it taken as complete fact - but it is probably a lot more accurate than what is being tossed around by casual observers. Anyone who knows more about a particular area, feel free to correct me or add to what I am saying.
What is a seizure?
Physiologically, it is my understanding that it is basically the neurons in the brain misfiring. It can be localized to a certain area in the brain, or it can occur throughout. The location and the breadth of the misfiring can cause different types of seizures. There are many types of seizures, and I could only name some of the most general types.
The seizure type that Jerry appeared to have (and he may have other types) was a grandmal or general tonic clonic seizure. This is characterized by rapid, uncontrolled, seemingly random convulsions.
What causes a seizure?
I don't know, and I do not think they are all that well understood in general. I'm sure there are some who could shed light on this.
What contributes to a seizure?
There are many things that could contribute. Some of the things that are known "triggers" for people I have worked with, or been told:
Medications - for example, I have seen an anti-psychotic that likely lowered the threshhold for a seizure.
Other chemicals - I have seen caffeine and chocolate as known "triggers" for seizure activity.
Flashing Lights - hence why video games or strobe lights are not recommended for people with seizures.
Fatigue - can't add too much here.
Temperature - I've known several people whose trigger is heat. I'm not sure if cold weather could be a factor.
I'm going to interject with an opinion here - three things on this list could be a concern for Jerry. The first is he is on medications due to other conditions. I do not know if they can contribute to seizure activity or not. However, this is something he and his doctors need to figure out. The other two are fatigue and temperature. Combining all three - Jerry has worked under these conditions for many years. His seizures, to our knowledge, have been fairly well controlled. Therefore, I do not think they are main contributing factors to his current condition. They *probably* need to find a new mix of anti-seizure medications, as for whatever reason, they have become less effective at controlling the condition. Could something else be going on? Sure, but let Jerry and his doctors determine that. If there is a new contributing factor, they will find and treat it, and we can readdress that issue if that occurs.
Some have stated that they do not believe his seizure disorder has been well controlled. Based on my experience, I disagree. Having several years between seizure activity is well controlled. Obvioiusly, at the current time it is not. Getting his seizures under control will likely require trial and error of different seizure meds, doses, and combinations of the meds.
What happens before a seizure?
This will vary from person to person. For some, it can come on unexpectedly. For others, there will be some indications before the seizure occurs. Jerry took a knee before his seizure started on the field. Consciously or not, he knew the seizure was coming. This is good, as it will likely keep him from falling from a full up-right position, which could lead to a head injury.
What do you do during a seizure?
Basically, you want to maintain a safe environment while the individual is seizing. People and objects should be cleared away, so that the seizing individual does not hurt themselves during convulsions (here I am speaking of a grand mal or tonic clonic seizure, which we have seen Jerry exhibit). You may place a pillow or something soft under the individual's head to try to prevent the individual from hitting his/her head. This needs to be done with care, and probably isn't recommended in all situations. Or maybe I learned an antiquated method.
Sometimes, a medication or treatment will be used to help stop the seizure. I know I've seen diazepam used to stop seizures. The medications used to stop a seizure can induce sleepiness, which in and of itself, or in conjunction with the post-seizure daze, may make them
What happens after a seizure?
For all individuals I've seen after a grand mal or clonic tonic seizure, there is usually a period where they are very dazed. Many people will sleep for several minutes or hours after the seizure. Often, the individual will not remember what happened immediately before the seizure, and will be hazy about what happened after they have "come to" after the seizure. This period of being dazed/hazy will vary based on the individual, length, type, and severity of the seizure.
Is a seizure life threatening?
Usually, no. The seizure will run its course, and the person will likely resume normal activity within a few hours, or maybe after a good night's rest. I would have to defer to someone else to define when a seizure would be life thretening.
What limitations are placed on people with seizure disorders?
This will vary situation to situation. Some possible restrictions would be avoiding known triggers, changing medications, staying away from (or finding a way to do it safely) bodies of water, avoiding operation of heavy machinery, avoiding heights, etc.
Purely my opinion...
I've witnessed countless seizures from numerous people. That said, a football field is probably one of the safest places, in my opinion, to have a seizure. Why? You're in an open field. Grass and turf is softer than almost any other surface we encounter in our daily lives. Save the initial fall - which could be experienced anytime an individual is standing - it is as safe as any other area to have a seizure. Anyting that happened to be around him at the time could easily be moved, and there would be plenty of people to help move whatever was near Jerry. Some of the common triggers to seizures are a part of Jerry's job, namely fatigue and heat. However, he has been coaching for a long time, and the seizures have been controlled despite this. That tells me they probably are not the main cause, and can, for now, largely be discarded. His medications are his own business - and would be inherent to anything else he does in life. Save the period of time where he may be sleepy/tired/fatigued/hazy after the seizure, in no way should the condition impair his ability to fulfill his duties. As an adult, he has the right to manage the risks in accordance with his other goals and aspirations, which is at least partially to be a successful head coach.
Until the seizures are back under control, it will affect his ability to perform, albeit I believe it will be of much less impact than others are making it sound. Already, the seizures seem to be under more control than they were a week and a half ago. Given that, I fully support his wishes to continue as the active head coach of our football team, and I believe the University ought to as well. And I'm not an HR guru - but the University is probably under legal obligation to make reasonable accomodations regarding his seizure condition.
To those who think it will impact recruiting: I disagree. Let other coaches say what they want, let them try to put the seizure disorder in a negative light. More often than not, I am guessing, when Jerry sets the record straight with the recruits, they will come out: a.) respecting Jerry more; b.) having less trust in the coaches who tried to paint Jerry in a negative light with the condition. With these factors, I would say it could even help recruiting.
I'm not submitting this as a paper or source for seizures, and it is basically a free-thought response to this thread and other media outlets. I apologize if something isn't clear, or there are any typos. I'll clarify as needed.
