I know, he's incredibly handsome. No, this isn't an ooshy gooshy love story. We met and started dating in May of 2009. Everybody loves hearing a good "how we first met" story and I think ours is great. I was standing in the dressing isle at Smiths Marketplace contemplating if I wanted Ranch or Creamy Italian. My phone rang, it was my friend Hannah. I found her husband Judd to be a pain in the ass when I first met. She says to me, "Hey, I want you to come hang out with us and meet Judd's cousin." I told her if he was anything like Judd I didn't want to meet him. She let me know he was nice, good looking, and funny. Then a new voice took over the phone. "We're having steaks at my dad's how do you want yours done?" He had me. Right then and there.I didn't even know his name yet. I let him know I liked mine rare. Next thing you know, I was driving to his dad's. He got back on the phone when I was near and told me he was the guy in the drive way. I saw him and my heart grew three sizes that day.
Joel and I were hooked on each other from that day on. Two months in, we had some heavy shit thrown at us. We have since too. First he had a baby on the way, which is way too long of a story, but I do love that boy. He's the child I didn't have to birth. He made my heart grow more.
Anyway, Joel also didn't know I had epilepsy. I can count on less than one hand the guys I dated that knew I had epilepsy. I was always trying to hide it, I was really good at it by now. I didn't want Joel to know, he actually loved me, and I loved him. I couldn't tell him.
So back to that morning. I was sneaking into my sleep-over-bag for my pills. He was still in the bedroom. Well, he caught me. He called me out real quick. He thought I was a pill poppin' druggie. I do pop my pills though, so he got that part right. I had to explain. After I let him know, he got this freaked out look on his face. I thought damn it, it's all effing over! Come to find out though, it's in his family too. He has an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, then later a nephew who have had a seizure or have epilepsy. In mine: my sisters, my brother, my aunt, and my cousin. Pretty bizarre right? We were the perfect opposites. It was a little freaky. I failed to give him the training on what to do if something happened. I hadn't had a grand mal for a while, but he had never seen one. Me either.
This was all during the first week July. I was seeing a neurologist in town so I didn't have to drive two hours to see Constantino. Big mistake FYI. Dr. Williams was the only neurologist here. He put me on Keppra. Lamictal wasn't cutting it anymore. With the stress of mama drama and my adjustment to the Keppra, I forgot a few doses. Before that though, I was having a good 70+ absence seizures a day. It made work hard, it made school harder, and my mood was ridiculous. I was really unpleasant, I don't know why he put up with me. A week later Keaton was born. Joel didn't get to see him til the next day. That night we were all at Joel's dad's. We were discussing the B.S. that was going on with baby mama. This was the first time I had met Joel's sister, Amber. She asked me if I was okay, that my color seemed off. I of course said I was fine. I needed to get back to my apartment so I could get some sleep before classes and work. I told him he could just stay but he decided to come along for the ride. One he would never forget.
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