Advertisement “I just had a seizure in the middle of the school hallway,” he said.
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Jordan Peters of La Farge High School. Dick Riniker photo |
Another hit about three days later, but this time his parents took him to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center. Doctors diagnosed Jordan with epilepsy, a neurological condition that affects the nervous system and causes seizures.
“I was kind of confused,” Jordan said. “I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t know much about the disorder.”
The seizures grew in frequency, intensity and severity as Jordan got older. A surgery between his sophomore and junior years that removed part of his right temporal lobe failed to meet the doctor’s hope of ceasing the seizures.
Jordan is now on his seventh combination of medications to minimize the episodes. Still, Jordan, 17, suffers from about three mild — or as he describes them, “annoying” — seizures daily.
Despite his epilepsy and ongoing medical treatments, Jordan has missed a limited amount of classes, maintained a positive attitude and remained dedicated to his academics. That’s why he was named this year’s Tribune Extra Effort Award winner from La Farge High School.
“He has not let his situation get him down,” said Principal Jack Sulik, who nominated Jordan for the award.
“He continues to strive each day to become a better person as well as a better student. Talk about perseverance — this kid has it.”
Jordan has been accepted to Western Technical College, where he plans to study for a career as a computer support technician.
He also is considering traveling to Spanish-speaking countries.
Jordan said he enjoys Spanish class and volunteering in the school’s computer department. You can find him playing and making computer games, surfing social networking Web sites or hanging out with friends in his spare time.
Doctors told Jordan he is unique because epilepsy developed before puberty normally fades in the late teens, he said. But after suffering through hundreds of seizures in five years, Jordan knows what to do when a seizure kicks in and his left arm begins convulsing.
He immediately lays on the ground to prevent injury. Jordon said his fellow students and teachers are aware of his condition and also help him when a seizure occurs.
Teacher Jeanne Kraus, who has known Jordan since third grade, praised his determination to return to challenging school work immediately after a seizure.
“I can only imagine the difficulty of returning to the work of balancing equations when your body has just experienced such a torturous physical and neural sequel,” she said. “However, Jordan persevered — he remained with the class, attended daily and honestly did his best to learn. That is Jordan’s spirit.”
Jordan has another major corrective surgery planned for June in Madison. Doctors will attempt to pinpoint where in his brain the seizures originate. If they do, they will stimulate the spot and “if all goes right, they’ll remove part of the brain that causes the seizures,” Jordan said.
“I hope there are no seizures after,” he said.
Anne Jungen can be reached at (608) 791-8224 or ajungen@lacrossetribune.com.
