Channing Seideman
Posted on 09/30/2011 2:53:05 PM PDT by rawhide
ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4) – A former student at Colorado Mountain College says she was forced to drop a class because she had a seizure.
Channing Seideman was in the middle of an emergency medical technician class when she had an epileptic seizure. She said faculty members asked her to drop the class, saying the episode was too distracting to other students and there could be more.
Seideman said it was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and she’s filed a complaint against the school.
She doesn’t want other people to experience the same thing.
“They’re allowed to have a seizure in class. They don’t have to get kicked out. It’s kind of just paving the way for other people with disabilities or epileptics,” Seideman told CBS4.
Colorado Mountain College did not return calls from CBS4. It told the Aspen Times it cares about all its students.
Channing Seideman
such delicate students need to be protected sarc
But I am not sure I want an EMT subject to seizures.
Not if they are frequent or brought about by situations that one might frequently encounter as an EMT (flashing lights, blood and guts, etc).
As a concerned dad of daughters, perhaps you should reconsider your career choice. Part of the first responder creed is to be the solution, and not part of the problem.
I hope you can get your seizures under control, and pray you have a wonderful and fulfilling life. With your good looks, you could probably get an MRS degree pretty quick.
And, BTW, if I'm having a heart attack, I'd rather your partner that doesn't have seizures help me.
A concerned dad.
/johnny
That’s too bad. When I was in social services, a lifetime ago, I worked with a few people who had seizure disorders. A real nightmare. So sad. She’s got a tough row to hoe.
I can see her fighting to stay in class, and I hope she wins. OTOH, I’m not so sure what the qualifications are if that is they type of job she wants to get into (medic, firefighting, etc.). If the seizures are common that might not be the best line of work for her. Of course, most any job will have its risk.
It's an EMT class, for pete's sake. They need to work on not being distracted by stuff. The instructor missed a real teaching opportunity here.
If her condition is not under control, it could be problematic if she actually served as an EMT. College is a classic stress-out factor that will trigger seizures. But if her meds can be adjusted there's no reason not to continue.
I say this as somebody who has epilepsy in the family, although I'm not myself affected. You have to be a bit careful and be sure to take your meds, but everybody here has not let it even slow them down. The drivers license people need strong reassurance from your neurologist that the condition is under control, but about the only thing that has been unattainable for affected family members is a medical certificate for a pilot's license.
Those that can, do; those that can't, teach. If I were in that class, I'd request a different instructor...like maybe one that could cope with a minor medical emergency.
One was a girl I dated for many years. She kept her seizures under control by medication. I never once saw her have a seizure. She was so embarrassed it may happen while we were together.
I told to never think that way, as I would never think anything bad about her if something like that happened. In fact, I would have been very angry if I ever heard anyone made a derogatory comment about her having this condition. It was not her fault she was born this way and I would never demean her for having this problem.
A second experience was with a friend I knew, who was strong as an ox. One day we were on the bus together and he had a seizure. It freaked me out as I was not sure what would happen? I just waited and watched, making sure he did not swallow his tongue and after about 10-15 minutes he snapped out of it. First and only time I ever saw a seizure like that.
Of course it would be inconvenient or outright dangerous if a medical worker requires help alongside the patient. Perhaps she should work only in places where there is someone ready to replace her. Hospitals would be such places, for example.
It's also strange that students of "emergency medical technician" class can be psychologically hurt by an occurrence of a medical emergency in the classroom, where a competent instructor is present. If they are that delicate perhaps they should consider a career as florists.
Soo....her seizure stressed out the other EMT’s?
I don’t want EMT’s that cant handle a simple medical event.
She was in a classroom of folks who should be able to cope.
Ya’ll miised the point big time.
She wasn’t refused a job because she couldn’t do it.
She wasn’t fired for having a siezure on the job.
She was told to drop a class (which she most likely paid for) because she was a DISTRACTION to the other students
She is not endangering anyone in the class. Nor is she endangering anyone else because she is only a student.
Let’s look at how great these other students are going to perform on the job if they a traumatised so badly by a person having a seizure.
Her fellow students, training to become Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) should be able to professionally and calmly deal with a seizure.
They should have questioned HER ability to calmly and professionally deal with the subject matter (blood and guts, trauma and whatnot) without going into seizure.
There was a girl in my high school biology class that would have been banned from EVERYWHERE under these parameters.
They might prick themselves on rose thorns.
CMC is going to lose this battle in court.
As for this young lady actually becoming an EMT, I think she can get the job, BUT if her disability becomes a liability to other peoples health I could see her being terminated from that position.
40 D zoomers?
She's not part of the solution. She's part of the problem.
Good for the school to catch it before it went to where someone else could have been at risk.
She needs to choose a different career. Sounds like the school ask her to drop the class. I would, too, if she were a relative of mine.
/johnny
Yep, she needs to know her limits. But still I feel for her.
I hear ya. We had 2 in math class, and one in chemistry. I later divorced one of them. They can make men do stupid, stupid things.
/johnny
She's a cutie. And obviously intelligent, if wrongly guided. If she were my grand-niece or second cousin, I would strongly try to convince her to work toward her obvious goal of being a care provider in ways that worked well for her situation. She seems like a good kid. I hope she gets past this, and makes a contribution to the world by winning big at whatever she does.
/johnny
No. 34 C’s and one less button than modesty should permit. Just very, very lovely, in addition to that. Don’t even remember her name...she transferred in and disappeared a couple of weeks later.
That's a nice thing you said.
As an EMT and a nurse I can safely state that there are many positions available for someone that has an EMT certification. Simply because someone has an EMT certification doesn’t mean that she has to work on an ambulance.
I earned my EMT back when I was in college. The follow summer I worked at a camp up in the mountains as the craft staff member. My application was moved to the top because I had my EMT. Everything I did at that camp (as far as medical care) was basic first aid, but to my employer I was a resource for the staff and director when a camper was sick or injured.
I don’t care what job you are applying for, be it in a factory, office or outdoors, when an employer has the choice between two individuals and one has their EMT, they are the one that gets the job.
She sounds lovely.
As a mom of an epileptic, yours is the post with reason.
My (14 yr old) daughter has not had a seizure in 4 years, but the neurologist has warned us that lots of kids seizures return during college because they are not sleeping enough, stressed out, drinking, and in general not taking care of themselves.
It’s no reason for the young lady to be kicked out of class unless she has uncontrollable seizures. I don’t think she’d be in college with uncontrollable seizures.
Why didn’t they tell the truth then, that while this probably wouldn’t unduly inconvenience the class (hey, she could serve as another emergency patient for them to practice on) they believe it might be an unwise career for her.
Stop making sense!
A seizure is too distracting in an EMT class?!? I would think it could be a great learning opportunity for the future paramedics.
I dated a girl who had seizures once too, only she didn’t tell me that she had them. I found out when she woke me up one morning thrashing around in bed like she was doing calesthenics or something. It didn’t look anything like the “seizures” you see on tv, so I thought she was just having a crazy nightmare or sleepwalking!
Ha! Bet you wouldn’t have reported her to the teacher for “distracting” you though, would ya?
Thank you, good observations.
My college curriculum required EMT training (7 credit hour class) but very few went on to sit for state boards, let alone pursue a career as EMT.
Like you said, she is taking a class.
That would have required looking away from her. And he was well aware that she was distracting, so why bother?
That is true, but the “certification” in most states is EMT-A, or Emergency Medical Technition - Ambulance.
As such, anyone certified as EMT-A has to be able to perform basic emergency lifesaving skills to specific standards in a prehospital environment.
It may sound “uncaring”, but EMT training is not designed to provide “job opportunities” for otherwise nice people. The training and certification program is to provide qualified basic level rescuers.
Providing care for a seizure victim is no big deal. When the rescuer is having the seizure though, it is.
There should be no “waiver” of requirements for any program or certification where other peoples lives are on the line.
Like I stated, she can have the certification without working on an ambulance. It is up to the ambulance company to ensure that she is fit for their rigorous employment standards as well as fit to driving an ambulance.
The ambulance company that I worked for required a printout from DMV to drive any of their vehicles let alone an ambulance. Do you think that any ambulance company is going to hire her and put her behind the wheel on the first day? I think not. The company that I worked for put the new recruits through their paces in a two week class that included skills checks and assessment abilities before even assigning them to a unit. This was a requirement even for those that were an experienced EMT from another company. Then after passing their classroom orientation, they were assigned to an FTO along with an EMT-1 for OJT. The FTO then did the final weeding to ensure the those that would be capable of handling the job. Those that are EMT-1 are responsible for 3-4 people while the paramedic is responsible for 1-2.
I think Channing has some very good lawyers working for her.
Some money is going to change hands and a number of people fired.
And as for those pantywaists in the class who could not handle a simple grand mal seizure? A career change is indicated. EMS is very messy work. Grand Mal seizures are the easy, clean part.
But having a seizure is no reason to kick this kid out of class. Nothing in the story says that she was anywhere near working as an EMT -- just that she was taking a course. Might have been an elective, even.
A lot of people here are reasoning way ahead of the data.
TO ANYONE WHO KNOWS SOMEONE THAT HAS SEIZURES.
CALL THE JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL NEUROLOGY DEPT IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND AND GET INFO ON THE “KETOGENIC DIET”. SEE IF THIS WILL HELP YOU OR THEM.
NO DRUGS ARE INVOLVED AND MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CURED OF SEIZURES AFTER GOING ON THIS DIET.
A Hollywood movie directors son had seizures and he wasnt getting any better. He took a whole year off to research seizures and found a diet that was put out over 50 years ago had worked with a high number of people.
The diet is full of all the unhealthy stuff they claim you should not eat but it cured his son of the seizures and he was able to remove him from all the drugs that doctors had put him on.
More people are dying from the all the drugs we are being given by the drug companies. This is also why the they call a doctors place of business a “Medical Practice”. They keep giving out the drugs until they either kill you or you say ENOUGH.
KETOGENIC DIET!!!! JUST FOOD!!!
It is not a simple diet. It is very complex and very dangerous. It’s something to be done only when medication fails. You have to be monitored in the hospital to start.
If you mess up even a little bit, you can have a seizure.
There are also lots of side-effects to the diet.
It is a Godsend to those where the medication has failed to control seizures.
Its no fun having seizures, but certain jobs should be not open to those that do....today if it is known you have seizures, the state takes away your driver’s license...as well they should...don’t want a surgeon operating on me or my loved one’s if he/she is an epileptic....
people with seizure problems can get their license to drive removed...must then prove 2 years seizure free. Only common sense...
It all depends on the person and the reason for the seizures.
Some people have seizures when they have a fever, and that is the only time. They are probably not going to be working when they have a fever.
My daughter had seizures because she had low sodium when she was a baby. Unfortunately, they over-corrected that problem and gave her brain damage.
However, her seizures stopped. Then she had another one when she was 10. It’s been 5 years since she’s had a seizure. The neurologist thinks that puberty brought it on, and now she is out of puberty and her EEG is better.
Rember the the justice on the Supreme Court, I think it was John Roberts had a seizure. He’s only had a few in his lifetime.
Lots of people have had 1 or 2 seizures. It’s the people with uncontrolled seizures that need to take things carefully.
Good point!
When I worked in the hospital I remember one gal that had a big sign on her bed, Do not jar bed........it would send her into seizure activity...
I am so sorry to hear of your daughters problem..glad she is doing better...
Blood and guts, trauma, etc does NOT cause a seizure.
A seizure is neurons mis-firing in the brain. It is a neurological condition, nothing more.
They only take your drivers liscence for 6 months or until yu are fit to drive again and cleared by your doctor.
They don’t take them away for good. People with Epilepsy sometimes have seizures for a short time then don’t ever have another seizure in thier life.
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