Comic book “We'll make it” - Sanofi

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Epilepsy, what is it ? Epilepsy is a condition characterized by the occurrence of epileptic seizures. More than one person in 100 has epilepsy in developing countries. Most do not have other problems besides epilepsy, but some do, such as psychological difficulties. Epileptic seizures are varied: The «big seizure», also called Grand Mal seizure, is the most dramatic one: there is first a stiffening of the whole body, then a fall, followed by jerks of all four limbs, then the person sleeps, sometimes for several hours. Lamine had this type of seizure when he stopped his medication. The least impressive seizure is a simple blackout, called an «absence», that lasts only for a few seconds. Lamine had absences, and the one recorded in the hospital allowed his doctors to <strong>make</strong> a precise diagnosis and to choose the right medication. Between these two extremes, there are more or less impressive, more or less dangerous seizures that affect only a part of the brain : they are called partial or focal seizures. Keifa probably had this type of seizures, which were due to a scar in his brain. How do doctors <strong>make</strong> a diagnosis of epilepsy? In order to be sure that a person has epileptic seizures, the doctor will gather a maximum of information. The best solution is to witness a seizure directly, or to see one filmed by the patient’s family (for instance on a cellular phone). The doctor will ask many questions and try to find an explanation, a cause for the epilepsy. In many cases, like for Lamine, there is no precise cause.
Some procedures may be necessary: The electroencephalogram (in short: EEG), which records the electrical activity of the brain. This procedure is painless and without danger! Other procedures are necessary in order to show whether there is a permanent lesion in the brain: the CT scan or the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These procedures use impressive machines, but are not painful; the patient has to remain totally quiet for about 15 minutes. Epilepsy is not a curse, epilepsy can be cured Medication can totally or partially prevent the occurrence of seizures. More than half of all epilepsies are easily controlled and seizures disappear (as for Lamine). In other cases, seizures become less frequent without stopping completely. More rarely, seizures do not respond to medication, and other means will be used to help the patients. In all cases, the treatment of epilepsy must be taken regularly, and for a long time. In the best cases, treatment can be stopped after a few years and seizures will not recur. In other cases, the seizures are simply « suspended », masked by the medication, and recur when the medication is stopped.
Page 1 and 2: we'll make it Author : Pierre GENTO
Page 3 and 4: THIS IS a story that is almost true
Page 5 and 6: You could say hello !! We have a su
Page 7 and 8: yeah right, dream on FATOU! wow thi
Page 9 and 10: THE DAYS fly by when you are having
Page 11 and 12: you know, KEIFA isn’t the only on
Page 13 and 14: HEY LAMINE! let’s go together ? h
Page 15 and 16: you two over there, stop chatting!!
Page 17 and 18: thank you for coming. we are very w
Page 19 and 20: I come every year for tests. they l
Page 21 and 22: LAMINE, there’s no reason to be s
Page 23 and 24: an ABSENCE is a SIMPLE loss of CONT
Page 25 and 26: After these difficult times life ge
Page 27 and 28: it’s this necklace that you need!
Page 29 and 30: find his parents and get them here
Page 31 and 32: see, doctor, he must have had quite
Page 33 and 34: we have a game against the big vill
Page 35 and 36: my keifa hasn’t been lucky. the o
Page 37 and 38: he has to go into town for tests. t
Page 39 and 40: KEIFA has an EEG but he needs anoth
Page 41: it’s the big day. the whole villa
Page 46: In Africa, as in the rest of the wo

Comic book “We'll make it” - Sanofi

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