Cameron Boyce died of SUDEP, a fate that haunts my son

<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "When I read earlier this week that the Disney star & nbsp;Cameron Boyce was dead& nbsp; in his sleep because of an epileptic seizure, I thought I was going to get sick. "data-reactid =" 31 "> When I read earlier this week that Disney star Cameron Boyce had died in his sleep because of an epileptic seizure, I thought I was going to be sick.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "That's because, as mother & nbsp ;of an 8 year old child with epilepsy& nbsp; who was woken up five times during the night by the heart rate monitor and the home oxygen rate, intended for hospital use, which monitors my son while he sleeps, c & rsquo; Is a fear with which I live all the time. "data-reactid =" 32 "> Indeed, as a mother of an 8-year-old child with epilepsy who was woken up five times during the night with a heart rate monitor and oxygen for use hospital-grade servant, keep an eye on my son while he sleeps, it's a fear with which I live all the time.

I thought of Cameron's parents and his shortened life. And then my thoughts went back to my own boy, Bennett, and to the many friends I have in the epilepsy community, whose messages began to invade my phone as soon as the news came out. We were all upset by her – and all of us knowing that this could really, really be one of us.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Cameron would have died as a result of & nbsp;SUDEP, which is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. And, like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID), scientists have not discovered exactly what causes it. Some theories surrounding specific types of epileptic seizures, cardiac arrhythmias or breathing disorders can occur during epileptic seizures. But all we know is that some people with epilepsy go to bed and never wake up. "Data-reactid =" 34 "> Cameron is reported to have died from SUDEP, the unexpected sudden death of epilepsy Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID), scientists have not found exactly what causes it. theories may exist about types of seizures, cardiac arrhythmias or respiratory disorders that may occur during the seizure.But all we know is that some people with epilepsy will sleep – and then do not never wake up.

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<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "50 million people suffer from epilepsy in the and out of those 50 million, 1 in 1,000 will die from SEDE.If a person's seizures are uncontrolled (that is, untreatable), like those of my son, & nbsp;this number rises to more than 1 in 150.& nbsp; This represents 1 in 150 people who will die in their sleep. "data-reactid =" 55 "> There are 50 million people who suffer from epilepsy in the world, and out of these 50 million, 1 out of 1 will die of SUDEP.If a person's seizures are uncontrollable (ie untreatable), like those of my son, this figure reaches more than 1 in 150. This represents 1 in 150 people who will die in his sleep.

As mothers, we worry about IDS from the moment our child enters the world. Many of us constantly check, throughout the night, to make sure they breathe. But becoming a mother of epilepsy is a frightening realization that fears of child death will never go away.

I can not even begin to describe how terrifying it is to be woken up at 2 am by the alarm of a heart monitor, telling me that my child could die right away. How disoriented he is to run down the hallway in my son's room, fight, sleep in the fog of sleep to recall the details of the CPR classes I've followed in preparation for this moment – all while wondering if tonight will be the night that I will need to use the defibrillator who is sitting next to his bed to revive his body.

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As a mother of a child with persistent epilepsy and risk of sudden death, I am fully aware that every night I sleep in bed can be his last.

Bennett loves Legos, superheroes and the family movie night. He asks me to snuggle with him every night before going to bed and tells me that he dreams of designing video games with age.

At the end of the month, he will be admitted to a children's hospital with a nationally recognized epilepsy center. There, the doctors will refuse all his medicines against seizures, and for a week, try to provoke as many crises as possible while studying his brain, in order to decipher exactly what causes his illness. I am terrified because I was warned that this process could leave him intubated and in a medically induced coma, or even lead to death.