Victor Hale II

October 13th, 2012 at 8:57 PM ^

Scary stuff. I really fear for his health. Are these fairly benign in general, or is it just a matter of time before a major one hits? (I'm not very educated on seizures)

Yeoman

October 13th, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^

is when they hit. You wouldn't want something like this to happen while you were driving down the expressway.

According to his physician there's no reason he can't live a "normal lifestyle" with this condition. And Kill's own comments have been things like "while you're unconscious there isn't much you can do...once you come to, you get up and go to practice" and "what am I supposed to do, sit on the sofa and wait for the next one?"

I do respect the way he handles this.

bacon1431

October 13th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^

I had grand mal seizures when I was younger and I can concur with what he says. I would get taken to the hospital for tests and I'd be fine by the time I got there. I don't know what sets his seizures off, but my trigger was extreme fatigue. If that is his trigger, he should probably stop coaching because this is a business notrious for 16 hour days.

CorkyCole

October 14th, 2012 at 10:07 AM ^

My girlfriend has epilepsy as well (controlled through medications), and she was forced to take anxiety medications since stress was a major reason for why her seizures came back a few years ago.  From what I understand about coaching... stress would seem to be quite common in the industry.  So between fatigue and stress, I would say being a NCAA Division 1 BCS-level coach is probably not the most ideal job for someone who has problems with seizures. Not saying he should quit, but I wouldn't expect his condition to get much better while he remains a coach. Pretty sad, indeed.

orobs

October 13th, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^

they're usually completely benign.

 

Seizures come in all shapes on sizes, from loss of conscioussness and convulsions, to smelling something funny that isn't really there.  

 

Seizures are only life threatening if an cannot be stopped (seizing for >5-10 minutes nonstop), but this isn't very common for patients medicated appropriately.  Other smaller risks are there, obviously, like biting your tongue, injuring yourself while convulsing, etc.  But a simple self-limiting seizure, by itself, is benign.  

5th and Long

October 13th, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^

There are epileptic seizures and stress induced seizures.  (Psychogenic Non-Epileptic seizures -PNES).  Either way, it used to be though that seizures were benign to the brain's overall health.  The risk of injury was more from the body going catatonic and falling on something, or being behind the wheel and seizing.  However, the prevailing theory is that repeated seizures can harm the brain.

Either way it's not good and thoughts go out to Jerry and the UMinny family.

UMgradMSUdad

October 13th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^

However, the prevailing theory is that repeated seizures can harm the brain.

This is pretty much what the neurologist who specializes in seizures told us at my daughter's last doctor's visit. 

And as to driving, most states require someone with a seizure disorder to get clearance from a neurologist and have been seizure free for a certain period of time, such as 6 months.  We don't really know how many seizures Kill has had since taking on the job.  We know the ones that have occurred during games, but there is a possibility that he's had others we just don't know about.

I'm glad he seems able to bounce right back after a seizure.  When my daughter has one, it usually triggers one or two others an hour or two later, and she essentially has to take at least a day or two to recover.

bacon1431

October 13th, 2012 at 9:18 PM ^

As a fellow epileptic, I feel for him. I was fortunate enough that I grew out of it by the time I was 18. Seems like a solid coach and guy. Never like seeing someone's life get interrupted with circumstances outside of their control.

Ovr

October 13th, 2012 at 9:31 PM ^

Somebody who's close to this guy, who really loves him, is going to have to sit down with him and see what other contribution he can make to Gopher Football that doesn't exacerbate this condition.  It can't continue, can it?  What if he dies the next time?

NGoBlue

October 13th, 2012 at 9:44 PM ^

I myself have someone dear to me that suffers from seizures. It's never easy when they happen. I wish him the best and truly hope he can find a cure or medication that works. The man truly has a love for Minnesota football and wants to make a difference. Good luck coach and here's to getting better!

bronxblue

October 13th, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^

Wish him the best, but at this point it might not be healthy for him to remain as coach.  I mean, this is the third seizure in the two years he has been Minny's head coach.  Not sure what can be done, but this is going to be a strain on his ability to maximize his team's abilities.

hoota122

October 13th, 2012 at 11:18 PM ^

To anyone that knows about seizures:



1. How many more do you think Kill will have before he thinks it is time to quit?



2. Are these seizures stress related or are they just happening at random moments?



I wish him all the best

ken725

October 13th, 2012 at 11:25 PM ^

This is very sad news, I hope that he is going to okay.  I also hope that he is not further putting himself in harms way if he continues to coach.  

JDVan

October 14th, 2012 at 12:07 AM ^

Regardless of any feelings involving our rivarly you have to wish for the best for the man and his family. If that is resigning or continuing coaching I hope the best for improved health and recognizing this is just a game.

UMgradMSUdad

October 14th, 2012 at 8:38 AM ^

The belief used to be that there were few or no long-term negative effects of seizures, but that thinking is changing.  Here are a few bullet points from a 2003 conference that dealt with the issue:

 

  • Prolonged seizures are clearly capable of injuring the brain.
  • Isolated, brief seizures are likely to cause negative changes in brain function and possibly loss of specific brain cells. This is not true for all forms of epilepsy, however, and is likely to be highly dependent upon the type of seizure and the specific cause of the epilepsy.

http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1064856376

The type of seizures that Kill is having, what they used to call grand mal, but now call tonic-clonic, are likely to cause more damage than other kinds of seizures.  In fact, in my daughter's case, a series of tonic-clonic seizures has affected her brain to the point that she now also has absence seizures (one of the types that used to be called petit mal).  Some people have dozens or even hundreds of these absence seizures per day, and others might not even notice them. The right balance of drugs and avoidence of things like stress, fatigue, alcohol and caffeine can help reduce the liklihood of seizures.

WingsNWolverines

October 14th, 2012 at 1:28 AM ^

this is out of his control and he should focus on getting better and homing in on his own health. Prayers and thoughts are with you Jerry.