Of course, I am grateful to my family for always cheering me on. Most of all, I thank my husband, Brian Zanin. If I weren’t bent on writing, we’d probably travel more and drink better wine, but ours is the only life I want. I’m grateful every day for it, and for you. Thank you, my love.
Author’s Note
Meena’s story, in many ways, is my daughter’s story. One winter morning, when Amelia was nine years old, she woke up with a stomachache. We thought she was coming down with the flu until she had her first seizure. Although it only lasted for a minute, she was still unconscious when the paramedics arrived. She didn’t have another seizure for months, although she did have spells of nausea that her neurologist referred to as “partial seizures.” After an electroencephalogram (EEG) revealed abnormal electrical activity in her brain, Amelia was diagnosed with epilepsy and began taking anticonvulsant medication. For unknown reasons, her brain seemed to normalize later. Now a teenager, she has been seizure-free for years.
Not every child who has a seizure is epileptic. For instance, fever-induced seizures are fairly common in young children. For many people, however, epilepsy is a life-long condition. It may develop as the result of an illness or injury, but in most cases, no cause is ever found. The seizures themselves can vary greatly, depending on how and where they begin in the brain. The type that sends Meena to the hospital is called a generalized tonic-clonic or grand mal seizure. It involves loss of awareness and involuntary jerking, followed by a period of unconsciousness during which the brain “reboots.” In other types of seizures, individuals may remain conscious. Seizures differ in length and severity. They may occur in the brain alone or cause movement in the body. Some have a known trigger, like flashing lights, while others occur without warning. Treatment plans also vary from one individual to the next.
Most people with epilepsy experience more than one type of seizure. Meena, for instance, has a tonic-clonic seizure as well as several absence seizures (her “spacing out”). She also experiences arm jerks in the morning, common to children with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. I know of one physician who refers to these as “cereal seizures” because they cause children to inadvertently fling cereal right off their spoons, as Meena does.
Meena also feels dizzy and nauseous before her tonic-clonic seizure. This sensation is called an aura. Some people experience light-headedness, blurred vision, a tingling sensation, or an unpleasant taste or smell before a seizure. Others feel a sudden intense emotion like fear or euphoria. Still others experience no aura whatsoever.
In my journey to learn more about my daughter’s condition, I found the Epilepsy Foundation (https://www.epilepsy.com/) to be an invaluable resource. The online fact sheets from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute of Health are also a good starting point.
For the technically inclined: the something detected by Meena’s CT (computed tomography or CAT) scan and necessitating further investigation with an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is called an arachnoid granulation. This is a common finding—basically a “bump” on the skull—that usually requires no intervention.
Dealing with a chronic condition can be scary for anyone. Like most children, however, Meena just wants to march on with her usual activities in the face of her symptoms. She is herself, not her diagnosis. Isn’t that true for all of us? We have Ups and Downs. We deal with fear and uncertainty, whether because of a medical condition, a loss, or some other life change. Like Meena, we don’t always get to choose what happens to us—only how we respond to it.
Life isn’t perfect. It never will be.
But it can still be beautiful.
About the Author
At Meena’s age, Karla Manternach was a smudgy kid in tube socks. She once stopped an entire parade by running in front of a fire truck for candy. Karla liked every subject in school but always loved writing best of all. Today she is a freelance writer who creates books for young readers. Karla lives with her family in small-town Wisconsin. Her favorite color is orange.
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Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
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SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2019 by Karla Manternach
Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Rayner Alencar
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Manternach, Karla, author.
Title: Meena meets her match / Karla Manternach.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2019] |
Summary: “Third-grader Meena Zee navigates the triumphs and challenges of family, friendship, and school while being diagnosed with epilepsy”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018007363 | ISBN 9781534428171 (hardcover : alk. paper)
| ISBN 9781534428195 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Friendship—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction. |
Schools—Fiction. | Epilepsy—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M368 Mee 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018007363
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