NPR 07-26:After Years of Stigma, Prayers Answered我与癫痫病魔斗争的难忘

Gloria Mengual was treated differently because of epilepsy; one day changed that

On Friday mornings, we bring you StoryCorps, the project that collects your stories across the country. And today we will meet Gloria Mengual, who described one thing that always set her apart. She was diagnosed with temporal lobe¹ epilepsy when she was 5 years old. That caused seizures³, multiple seizures, sometimes on the same day. And as Gloria explains to her partner Charles Gregory, epilepsy colored much of her childhood.

When I was 12 years old, I had a teacher in her first or second year of teaching. And I had a seizure² in her class. My seizures didn't last very long, maybe a minute. But within that minute she managed to get all 20 something other students out of the classroom. And I was sitting there in my desk. And I looked over to the doorway⁴ of the classroom. And I could see the teacher peeking⁵ in with this scared look on her face. And I saw a couple of my classmates' heads kind of under her face and over her face. And my math book was on the floor, and so was a pencil. And all these desks were empty. That image stayed in my head for years.

In your family, how did they respond to your seizures as you were growing up?

I’d be coming out of a seizure and I’d hear my father saying, “Why does this have to happen to her? What did we do wrong?” And my mother would often be praying over me or putting holy water on my forehead. She was determined⁶ to find me the best in terms of medicine. And there was always this hope on her part that her little girl was going to find a cure. So I would see tons of doctors and they tried many medications. And when I was in my 20s, they suggested that I would be a candidate for a brain surgery.

But back then in 83 when I had the surgery, it was fairly new. And my mother, after all those years of trying to get me cured, the thought of them opening up her daughter’s head scared the hell out of her. And I don’t think she could bear the thought of losing me. So, that morning, she begged me not to do it. And I looked at her, I kissed her forehead, and I said, “Mommy, get out of the room.” It was a 7-hour surgery. I remember lying in the hospital room for 3 weeks. Man, I’ve never prayed so much in my life.

How has your life changed since that surgery?

It is completely different. You know, I’ve gone from somebody who's shy and withdrawn⁷ and scared of when I’d have the next seizure. And now, as the whole world is open to me.

That’s Gloria Mengual with Charles Gregory at a SotryCorps booth in Hartford, Connecticut. Because of the surgery Gloria no longer has seizures. Her StoryCorps interview will be archived along with all the others in the Library of Congress. And you can subscribe⁸ to the projects' Podcast by going to NPR.org.

1 lobe   

n.耳垂，（肺，肝等的）叶

参考例句：

• Tiny electrical sensors are placed on your scalp and on each ear lobe.小电器传感器放置在您的头皮和对每个耳垂。
• The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for controlling movement.大脑前叶的功能是控制行动。

2 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

3 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

4 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

5 peeking   

v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。
• They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

8 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。