To the editor: We at the Epilepsy Foundation of Los Angeles were heartbroken to read Paul Karrer's article about his father's death.
His story, however, is a tragic outlier. Adults with well-controlled epilepsy are involved in fewer accidents than drivers with many other medical conditions. One study found that a fraction of 1% of all car accidents are caused by a person with epilepsy.
People with uncontrolled epilepsy or who do not take their medications as prescribed should not drive. People should also be honest with their doctors, but California is one of six states that require doctors to report anyone with epilepsy to the government, making many afraid to talk openly with their doctors.
That's why we support Senate Bill 357 by state Senator Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge). SB 357 would replace an ineffective mandatory reporting system with one that promotes honest dialogue, while maintaining the DMV's authority to withhold or suspend a license from a potentially unsafe driver.
Too many people with epilepsy live in fear and shame about their condition. As we learned from Karrer's article, making people afraid to talk about their seizures with their own doctors can have tragic consequences.
David Parker and Rebekkah Halliwell, Los Angeles
The writers are, respectively, a board member and executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Los Angeles.
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To the editor: Karrer's op-ed reminded me of when I lost my driver's license due to epilepsy.
Like your father, I had a tragic accident when I was a child: I drowned and had to spend weeks in an oxygen tent.
Then I started living life with strange little episodes that my mother had just told me were headaches. Finally, in my late teens, I was diagnosed with complex partial seizure disorder.
No one noticed and I was able to get my license. Back then reporting was slow and I drove for years. I always stopped when I started to feel “weird.”
One day the DMV contacted me. My doctor had informed me of my condition and the DMV finally caught up with me and took my license away.
How dare you! Driving is my right. “Ha,” the DMV said. “It is a privilege, sir.” So I had to take public transportation to college.
I underwent brain surgery in my early 20s to remove a scar that developed on my brain due to drowning. After six months seizure-free (no lie), I got my license back. That was over 30 years ago and I still don't have seizures and drive; I repeat, without lying.
Jason Williams, Lakewood
