Husband's reactions to wife's seizures is gaining praise
Seizures are scary, likely for everyone involved. The person experiencing a seizure is feeling out of control of their body and those around them feeling panicked about how to help. If you're not familiar with what you're supposed to do when someone has a seizure then you may fall into the panicked category where you want to help but aren't sure how.
Believe it or not there are methods to assist someone experiencing certain types of seizures to help them come back to their senses quickly. Justin and Rachel Poole recently shared a video of their shopping trip which included catching Rachel having multiple seizures in the store. But it's the way Justin handles the seizures that has people talking.
Rachel is diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), which is a neurological disorder that can result in cognitive issues, speech problems, pain, fatigue and seizures.
The woman's FND diagnosis came after being attacked by a man wielding a knife while she was nine months pregnant. At the time Rachel was home alone FaceTiming Justin who was deployed in Southwest Asia unable to physically reach his wife in El Paso, Texas. Thankfully, Rachel and the couple's daughter survived the vicious attack and the man responsible was jailed, but it's believed to be that event that caused the disorder.
A woman sitting on a bed holding a pillow
Photo by Solving Healthcare on Unsplash
In the video uploaded to social media, the couple are seen walking around the store placing needed items into their shopping cart when suddenly Rachel slowly leans onto the cart. It didn't take long for Justin to recognize that his wife was in trouble as he scoops her into his arms trying to stop her from hitting the ground. He props her against his body quickly tilting her head back and asking if she's okay but Rachel doesn't respond. The woman still appears to be in an unresponsive state when Justin quickly hits her in the sternum snapping her back to the present.
From a bystander's point of view it would look as if he simply hit an unconscious woman in the chest. In reality, Justin is using a previously researched method of introducing a painful stimuli to interrupt a seizure, though there's debate over if that's helpful. In Rachel's situation it seems to have done what it was intended to do so the pair attempt to finish their shopping and get out of the store.
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"Girl if you fall on your face in this store...I'm running. What was that," Justin jokes before saying, "I just want to get out of this store right now" when Rachel asks if he wants an apple.
The two are trying to laugh through the moment but you can tell they're both concerned another seizure may come and for good reason.
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"I couldn't help it. I'm really sorry," she says before asking if he could go in front of her to presumably unload the cart. Justin declines out of fear she'll have another seizure joking that she needs to give him warning next time by yelling timber.
Just a few moments later it's clear Rachel is fighting to keep her eyes open and is struggling to communicate. As she starts to lean backwards, the man seemingly grabs a spray bottle out of thin air, spraying his wife in the face. This is another technique to attempt to interrupt a seizure by activating the vagus nerve.
People were thoroughly impressed by his attention to his wife along with his ability to know what to do in a calm, quick manner. Several joke about the techniques used while still praising the man's dedication.
"He rebuked that seizure so fast! Lmao! Girl you got a damn good man right there," someone writes.
"He was so quick with that spray bottle ahahah. he said SEIZURE GET BACK!!! AHT AHT," another jokes.
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"Having seizures is wild! I also have a seizure disorder & it is so interesting to me to see how they present in others. Stay safe & that man is a treasure," one person chimes in.
"The reboot punch sent me, but the spray bottle like you a cat on the drapes then you casually like “oh phone number?” With a dripping face," someone else laughs.
While the methods to interrupt Rachel's seizures may be amusing to some, seizures are a serious condition so others were concerned that the family needs a service dog to help alert them. Service dogs can be cost prohibitive and it's not clear if the Pooles are working on getting one for Rachel or if the type of seizures caused by FND can be detected early by a service dog. In the meantime it seems that Justin is on top of anything that comes their way.