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Mary Loughlin is urging area law enforcement to attend a free upcoming online session about epilepsy awareness.
				Northeast resource coordinator for the Epilepsy Foundation, Eastern Pennsylvania, Loughlin recently spoke about the need for more training due to an increasing number of seizures mistaken for drug or alcohol use in this region and nationally. She cited video of county prison inmate Shaheen Mackey in a restraint chair as an illustration of someone having a seizure and not receiving proper help.
				The foundation&rsquo;s online session is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 21 and is certified to count as continuing education for law enforcement, Loughlin said.
				Loughlin said she&rsquo;s been reaching out to area police departments inviting them to attend, and a few already have signed up. Some county prison staffers also had requested training and are set to attend the session, which should run about an hour &mdash; longer if there are questions, she said.
				Registration for the training, which will be conducted through Zoom, is required by contacting Loughlin at 570-592-1150.
				Loughlin said the class is focused on teaching participants ways to recognize and properly treat seizures.
				&ldquo;This is not to undermine or discredit anything they do. It&rsquo;s about understanding. I appreciate the police,&rdquo; she said.
				The training will emphasize combative behavior is common when someone is having a seizure, she said.
				Aggression is normal because a person suffering from a seizure is often disoriented, powerless to stop what&rsquo;s happening and overcome with a &ldquo;fight or flight&rdquo; reaction, Loughlin has said. She has witnessed at least a thousand seizures, including some suffered by her epileptic son in which he exhibited uncharacteristic behavior, such as cursing and punching.
				Ideally, someone suffering from a seizure should be provided safe space due to the convulsions and be reassured with calm voices, she said.
				&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t come at them,&rdquo; Loughlin said.
				Doctors also are increasingly recommending new implant devices in the area of the brain to treat seizures, she said. A Taser could damage such a device.
				&ldquo;They have to be careful that they don&rsquo;t hit someone or knock them down if they have this device in their skull,&rdquo; Loughlin said. &ldquo;Most people aren&rsquo;t aware of that.&rdquo;
				One in 26 people will have a seizure in their lifetime, including those with no history of epilepsy, she said. In-depth information about seizures is not provided in typical first aid training.
				&ldquo;Epilepsy is more common than many people think,&rdquo; she said.
				Based on county accounts, prison correctional officers restrained the 41-year-old Mackey in June 2018 because of his violent behavior and operated under the assumption he was on drugs, although litigation filed by his estate said no drugs were in his system.
				The litigation argues the county should have known the Berwick man was epileptic and prone to seizures. After becoming unresponsive in the restraint chair, Mackey was transported from the prison to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, where he died two days later.

Training on seizures encouraged for area law enforcement