Well, it seemed like a good idea...

I woke up, trying to regain my focus. I had no idea where I was. I soon came to find out that I was in the emergency room at Sutter Hospital, Davis. While my memories of that morning are rather fuzzy, I found out I had had a seizure, which is defined as "the physical findings or changes in behavior that occur after an episode of abnormal electrical activity in the brain," according to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.
It had been a regular night, with me working until 1 a.m. and then going to spend the night at my girlfriend's house, where we promptly fell asleep without any problems. I was informed later that I had began to thrash around and moan. My girlfriend thought I was having a dream, but when she turned on the light, she could see that that was not the case, with my lips turning blue and my tongue hanging out and my body completely stiff. My eyes were also open and completely dilated. She tried to wake me, but with no luck. She called 911, and within ten minutes the paramedics were on scene, along with firefighters and police officers. They were interested in figuring out what was going on, and they asked if I was an alcoholic or a druggie, but all she could say was that I was a good and healthy boy, except that I eat a lot of ice cream, which is very true. They tried to put oxygen on me, but I pushed the mask away. My memory of the event begins at the hospital, with me wondering what the hell was going on. I gave blood and urine samples, and submitted to a Cat scan. I called in my shifts for work and began to wonder just what had happened, and by 6:30 am I was released, with me still attempting to understand what it all meant.

What it all meant was that I could no longer work, drive a car, or ride a bike. It also meant that I had to make an appointment for a neurologist as soon as I could. It also led to an extremely sore jaw, which I had dislocated during the seizure. Since this was just in the last few days, I am still sore, still out of work, and still rather nervous about what it all means. Does it mean that I will not be able to do the job that I love now and in the future, being bus driving and law enforcement? As of now, I have a restriction on my driver's license, effectively holding me back from work and putting me in a rather difficult spot. My family has become terribly worried, as am I. If there is one piece of advice I can give you, my faithful reader, it would be: DO. NOT. HAVE. A. SEIZURE.

Below: My claim to fame, and the early wake-up call, as portrayed in FireDispatch.com:

11/17/2009 3:43:53 AM (24 min)

Davis Fire Department Medical emergency

Losing touch

As years have passed, American society has become enamored with technology; Blackberries, Ipods, Iphones, computers, TomToms, Iphone apps, etc. As a result, our society has lost touch with itself as it becomes stuck in the technological sandpit. People walk around with Ipod earbuds, with the music playing so loud that you can clearly hear the lyrics of the music, even though you are 25 feet away. The person is insulating them self from society and everyone else around them, preferring to hear their own, self-constructed reality. This attitude is common among young people and older people alike, as people begin to ignore the others around them. People become lost in their cell phones, playing games, texting, blogging, or even worse...Facebook status updating. We have begun to lose touch with each other and the things that make our society what it is. The little interactions between people are lost once people put the earbuds in or look down at their cell phone and go to their own constructed reality. Besides, once the earbuds go in, one cannot hear the snippets of conversation from those around us, which so consistently amuse us. The "Good mornings," and "Have a good day" are lost in the sound of Chris Brown screaming into some one's ear canal. Simple courtesy is shoved to the wayside: "Oh sorry, I didn't hear what you said, I had my earbud in." Here is a solution: Take out the earbuds, listen to those around you, actually interact with them, and contribute to society without insulating yourself with an Apple-constructed reality.

Bad luck, Chuck.

Driving is like Russian roulette; you do not know what or when something is going to happen and you have no control of it. Most of us take driving for granted, as a normal task that is done almost every day and requires little effort or thought. But as the daily newspaper reports read, it is not as simple and safe as it seems. Reports tell us about accidents that happened on the very roads we travel every day without a problem. We see the crosses memorializing the victims of the accidents, with the fresh flowers left by the families at the foot of the cross, and debris of the accident still littering the side of the road. What is it that leads to some people getting in accidents while we do not? Take a recent example from my home county: A girl who went to my high school before my time was driving to a Halloween party on Highway 101, heading south. Out of nowhere, a vehicle heading north is in her lane, she swerves, but it is too late to regain control. She was killed, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As drivers, we have all had close calls, where we say, "Wow, that was way too close and scary!" The scariest thing is that you can be the best driver you can be, obeying all the rules, being observant and safe, and still there is the possibility of getting in an accident. Scary thought right? You can be having an ordinary day driving to work, school, your friend's house, and then bam, your life has changed forever, and there is not much you can do to have changed it. If it wasn't you, it probably would have been someone else.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do other than can about your daily routine and hope for the best. Or just sit at home and not go anywhere. That would probably be pretty safe, but not very fun.