“If anyone with epilepsy has any doubt left, I tell them that we are not, in principle, people at risk from COVID19”
An article by our collaborator Irene Tarragó
Hello to everyone. During this unusual summer, in which the desire to rest and the desire to go out and have fun with friends collides with the need to remain as isolated as possible, with the least possible social interaction. This caused that, in many family townhouses or second homes, more people have come together than any other summer. That has been our case since we have a house next to a swamp and we have plenty of guests all summer. For a month we have been living with our granddaughters, and while it has been wonderful, it is also true that we are no longer used to “dealing” with little girls. As my mother rightly said, “God is very smart and gives you children when you are young”. Obviously, they set your schedule, the food, the activities… and we (my husband and I) are already used to schedules adapted to our pace. In spite of everything, I have to confess that they left yesterday and I already miss them.
This year is being so different … Now it’s time to return to school and it’s full of doubts and fears from parents and teachers. And the authorities are not helping at all. They blame each other and don’t give solutions, instead of looking for them together. From this page, at this moment more than ever, I want to revindicate the figure of the school nurse, because, even if she is always necessary, now she is much more so. I encourage you all, if you have school-age children, to demand her in your schools. It is very important that this figure is always present, and even more so now. You cannot demand from teachers the responsibility for health for which they are not trained. I have been demanding this figure in schools for many years now, and now is a good time to make it stronger.
We are going to have to learn to live with this virus for much longer than we thought. We will have to reinvent ourselves. We thought that in the 21st century these things would not happen to us. But here it is the COVID19, which has come to stay.
If anyone with epilepsy has any doubt left, I tell them that we are not, in principle, people at risk from COVID19. “There is no evidence that people who only have epilepsy have a weakened immune system. These people should not be considered “immunocompromised” and their immune system is not immunodeficient from having seizures. People with different types of epilepsy, certain causes of epilepsy, or other health problems may have factors that affect their immune system”.¹ This is why it is very important that when in doubt, we consult our neurologist immediately.
I hope that the return to school will be successful and that my collaboration in next month’s MJN blog will be much more optimistic regarding the future and development of the virus and the search for a vaccine.
Greetings to all.
1 EPILEPSY FOUNDATION
