THON Dancer has seizure during THON, goes to hospital and returns to continue dancing.
Source: I did not find this story online. One of my friends was there when he had the seizure and helped his father check him back into THON when he returned after going to the hospital.
The Axle: The focus of the story will be informing the viewer about seizures while having the inspirational story of the THON dancer who came back to finish THON after going to the hospital. I want the viewer to learn the signs of an upcoming seizure, the side effects of a seizure, the causes of a seizure and finally, what to do if someone around them has a seizure. There are many training sessions for CPR or what to do if someone has a heart attack, but how to handle a seizure is rarely talked about, so I think this would be perfect to inform a viewer.
The Riders: I would talk to the THON dancer himself so that he could explain a personal view of what a seizure is like and explain why THON was so important to him that he would push himself to come back and finish. I would also talk to his doctor. His doctor apparently is a father of a Four Diamonds child receiving chemotherapy currently, so the doctor really wanted to get him back to THON as well. I think it would be important to have a doctor explain the risks of seizures and the side effects, but also explain the concern of doing something like THON and how it can trigger a seizure. I would also want the doctor to explain why he thought it was okay to allow his patient to come back to THON. I would also talk to the dancer’s father who took him to and from the hospital and was okay with his son pushing through a seizure to dance in the event. I would also have the father explain his son’s history with seizures growing up. Finally, I would talk to the organization that the dancer was dancing for and get members’ reactions as to how inspiring it was that he pushed through a seizure for the event.
The Spokes: Like previously stated, I would get sound from the dancer, the doctor, the father and other members in his organization. I would get nat. sound of him interacting with his organization after THON ended. I would also get nat. sound of ambulance noises when I explain that he was taken out of THON in a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. I would have a standup at the Bryce Jordan Center where he had his seizure and include the causes of his seizure once he and the doctor explained them to me. For example, if it was a combination of lack of sleep, flashing lights, diet or anything else, it would be easy to include flashing lights, the foods he was eating and other causes in my stand up to physically show what caused it. I can also try to explain the feeling leading up to a seizure with other objects to put it in perspective for the viewer.
The Rim:
Beginning: I would start with shots of the dancer walking to class on a normal day of the week. I would have a sequence shot of him walking and getting to his classroom. I would explain how one may not know something is wrong with him to look at him, but he has epilepsy. I would then transition into the story of THON weekend and how he had a seizure, was rushed to the hospital and then came back to finish dancing. I would ask him to provide any photos and videos that he had of himself dancing at THON so I could use those to help tell my story to my viewers as well. Then, I would have him and his dad explain his history with seizures.
Middle: Here is where I will really break down the signs and symptoms of seizures and what bystanders can do to help someone having a seizure. I would have the doctor explain what a “trigger” is for seizures and then I would do my standup based on what the dancer tells me are his triggers and how he feels right when he is about to experience one. I would have the doctor explain the risks of what he did by pushing himself and even participating at all at THON with epilepsy and what bystanders can do to help. I could do another standup at this time to demonstrate what to do to help someone having a seizure so the viewer knows exactly what to do.
End: I would have the father explain what was going through his mind during this process and why he was okay with his son going back to THON. I would also have the doctor explain his relationship to THON and why he thought that the dancer would be okay to finish. Finally, I would go back to the dancer himself and have him explain what all of this meant to him and if he hopes that this will inspire others with epilepsy to not let the condition hold them back.