According to the AP:
UPDATE: Interesting perspective from Ace of Spades.U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, the senior judge in the United States, was reported alert and fully recovered from a seizure and fall at his seaside summer home, in which he experienced minor scrapes but no serious injuries.
Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Monday that Roberts, 52, would remain overnight in a hospital in the northeasternmost U.S. state, Maine. "It's my understanding he's fully recovered," said Christopher Burke, a spokesman for Penobscot Bay Medical Center, where Roberts was taken. . . .
Roberts was taken by ambulance to the medical center, where he underwent a «thorough neurological evaluation, which revealed no cause for concern,» Arberg said in a statement.
Roberts had a similar episode in 1993, she said.
Doctors called Monday's incident «a benign idiopathic seizure,» Arberg said. The White House described the January 1993 episode as an «isolated, idiosyncratic seizure. A benign seizure means that doctors performed an MRI and other tests to conclude there was no tumor, stroke or other explanation.
In addition, doctors quickly would have ruled out simple explanations such as dehydration or low blood sugar.
By definition, someone who has had more than one seizure without any other cause is determined to have epilepsy, said Dr. Marc Schlosberg, a neurologist at Washington Hospital Center, who is not involved in the Roberts case.
Whether Roberts will need anti-seizure medications to prevent another is something he and his doctor will have to decide.
But after two seizures, the likelihood of another at some point is greater than 60 percent.
"When it's going to occur, obviously nobody knows," Schlosberg said.
The incident occurred in midafternoon on a dock near Roberts' home in Port Clyde on Maine's Hupper Island. Port Clyde, which is part of the town of St. George, is about 90 miles by car northeast of Portland, midway up Maine's Atlantic coast.
Roberts was taken by private boat to the mainland, then transferred to an ambulance, St. George Fire Chief Tim Polky said.
"He was conscious and alert when they put him in the rescue (vehicle)," Polky said. . . .
Larry Robbins, a Washington attorney who worked with Roberts at the Justice Department in 1993, said he drove Roberts to work for several months after Roberts' seizure. Robbins said Roberts never mentioned what the problem was, and he never heard of it happening again. . . .
So, if the Chief Justice does have epilepsy, I don't see it as a problem. If anything, he would be an example of how people with epilepsy can perform demanding, high-profile work.
Whoah. Too much irony for one post. The answer you're looking for is up in the air - he could never have a seizure again, he could have a few more but live a long, normal life, he could have a seizure 6 months from now in his bed and never wake up. With seizures, you just cannot tell.
As far as whether he will personally continue, unless he has a seizure that leads to some sort of stroke, I think its just a matter of personal choice for the Chief Justice.
Well, except that epilepsy drugs can have significant cognitive effects.
Of course, if you are driving and have a seizure that leads to an accident, you can be found liable to anyone you injure in the crash. You can only use the "sudden emergency" defense (in the states that allow it) if you did not know that you were prone to have seizures.
While none of us know the details of either seizure, I'm presuming that his doctors gave him the okay to drive back in '93. Being that it was 14 years later when another incident took place, would it be reasonable to conclude that he should have thought he would be prone to seizures?
I ask that generically, as there is no accident or potential liability in this instance.
Specifically though, I would think with the security details already in place for him, that having a limo drive him here, there, and to work, would not be an onerous expense to the taxpayers if the diagnosis based on the current episode recommends his not driving. So it should be no problem for him or us.
Most importantly, I hope it's not a serious problem, and pray for strength for he and his family; as I would for any family facing unexpected unknowns.
My actual underlying point though, was, if there are a couple/three white Chevy Suburbans (ala "Clear and Present Danger") shadowing him as it is, there'd be no additional expense if he simply sat in the back seat of one of them instead of driving his Volvo amidst them.
Seriously though, this is sad for him personally and I hope he has many more healthy years, in or out of the SC.
It would depend on the judge or jury deciding the hypothetical case, of course, but if he went years without another seizure, many would think it reasonable for him to have resumed driving some time ago.
I did not mean to imply that Roberts was negligent for driving. I just thought it was interesting that he apparently was worried enough in 1993 about the seizures reoccurring that he seems to have avoided driving for "several months."
Oh no, I didn't take your post as implying that at all.
My own presumption was that his doctors back then advised him not to drive while they continued their diagnosis, then finding nothing of note, told him he was okay to resume driving.
I suspect that Justice Roberts has a lower than average seizure threshold, and he had a seizure due to a "stressor," like sleep deprivation. He's a go-go-go kind of guy, so it wouldn't surprise me if he was putting in long hours at his "vacation" house. Sleep deprivation alone can kick off a seizure in susceptible peoble.
Well, they make you sleepy for the first month or so, among other things. A lasting effect I have noticed is memory loss, which is documented as a common side effect in the included medical literature. However, it should be noted that anti-epileptic drugs have many other authorized uses, like controlling migraines and mood stabilization. The literature did not mention whether one was more likely to be affected by sife effect X if s/he was being treated for problem Y.
Another odd side effect that also seems to be common: sudden numbness and tingling in your extremities. I'd say that if CJ Roberts was to experience memory loss, he'd probably want to reconsider that med. I would . . . if I could remember to do so when I go to see my doc.
I've known professionals with epilepsy and I wasn't aware of any reason why someone who had only very rare seizures wouldn't be able handle a fuller workload than most of us carry.
As stated above, epilepsy drugs (such as Tegetrol) only cause some fatigue.
Silly question: had they not done an EEG one CJ Roberts? I thought that EEGs were used to diagnose seizures - perhaps a "J-wave?"
As a liberal, I could care less that the Chief Justice has seizures. It's probably not the kind of thing that would affect his work, so really, what does it matter?
The clerks do all the work anyway!
I kid. I kid. (Or do I...?)
Interesting -- I was prompted to look this up by your post, and was surprised to find that issuance of a Class III (lowest requirements) airman's medical certificate to someone with epilepsy would apparently be difficult but not completely impossible (the aviation medical examiner would have to defer, and the FAA would have to grant the certificate).
I suspect that a history of epilepsy presents a dead-end, however, for anyone trying to get a Class I Medical, as would be required to be an airline pilot -- either officially or as a practical matter.
Yeah, I wonder how one could have ever mistaken that for a deathwish..... /rollseyes
He's been derided by liberal lawyers as being "whitebread" and lacking in "diversity."
But now, if he qualifies as a member of a protected class (disabled), is he thus entitled to "diversity" points?
Not to go off topic, but it's very unfortunate how little the doctor-patient privilege really protects people today. At least one friend with epilepsy has several times not reported to her neurologist when she's had a seizure (or even just a halo), so that the neurologist will be able to certify that she's been free of seizures for a certain period of time. There's no risk to anyone else. She's never in her life had a seizure while driving, and she only has a seizure if she's severely stressed, very hungry, AND forgets to take her medication. Moreover, she always has sufficient warning time to sit down or lie down before actually seizing. But because the government requires certain certifications from her doctor in order to be given permission to basic tasks required to live a normal life, like driving, she must occasionally not seek appropriate medical care and must avoid giving her doctor complete information about her health.
2. Most anti-seizure medications have only fatigue as a side effect, some do have an effect on memory, some can have very severe fatigue (e.g. fall asleep in the courtroom). HOWEVER, if he's only had two seizures in his lifetime, he is most certainly NOT going to be put on one of those.
3. Anybody who thinks that two seizures makes a disability, or requires anti-seizure medication (except maybe a very low dose and very safe one similar to preventative use of aspirin) really needs help.
Of course he can have a normal life! Even very severe epilepsy allows someone to have a normal life (except that they may not be able to drive, and will be interrupted occasionally by having a seizure). And, as far as I know, in modern life, epilepsy DOES NOT reduce your lifespan!
Please, people, this is not the 12th century.
Having said all of that, I now have a soft spot for the Chief Justice. I had benign rolandic epilepsy as a child--grand mahl seizures when the part of my brain used for sleep would activate. Any time I would lay down for the night or even for a nap I was risking a seizure. It felt like someone was pouring warm water into my mouth and then--wham! As an eleven year old I was sure this was what it felt like to die. Then, after a couple of minutes, it was over. I tried to tell my mother in the morning: she had no idea what was going on until she heard me one night, gurgling at the foot of the stairwell. My condition vanished, as diagnosed, with adolescence. I don't imagine my fear would have been any less had I been afflicted with the same version of the disorder that affects CJ Roberts, and had seizures as an adult.
I truly do not believe it will effect the Chief's ability to preside over the Court or render opinions I find intolerable. Everyone knows the old anecdote about Julius Caesar, epilepsy victim. I have sympathy, however, for the terror he must feel on the rare occasions when this disorder rears its ugly head for him. I wish him well.
I had my first seizure at 14. I underwent a battery of tests and no cause was identified. As 14 is late for seizure onset, an enviromental cause was blamed.
A year later I had another one. I underwent another battery of tests, and again no cause was found. (Nor could seizures be induced under stress).
I have had, over almost two decades now, exactly 5 seizures. Each has occured in my sleep. Each has occured when I was not taking medication to control it. Each has occured in the same geographical region (I spent 7 years living in another area, unmedicated, without a single seizure. I had one within months of moving back). Each occurs in the late spring and early summer.
My neurologists thinks it's an allergic reaction to something. It's frankly easier to medicate me than to try to work out what possible allergen it is (it's not something on a standard allergy screen).
Seizures can occur in anyone -- enough stress can trigger it. For me, it appears to be a combination of deep sleep (makes seizures easier), stress, and a specific allergen that combine to reduce my seizure threshold enough to trigger a seizure. It's rare (once a year unmedicated is a MINIMAL problem, especially if they all occur during sleep). A bare-minimum dose of Keppra contains them perfectly.
Admittedly, seizures can result in death -- a friend of mine had poorly controlled seizures, had one, and never woke back up. It's not very common, and someone like Roberts doesn't have any of the risk factors (inability to control the seizures, frequent seizures, unresponsive to medications, early 30s, etc).
For an adult, sudden seizure onsets are very worrisome. They are almost always the sign of either serious stress, drug or alcohol abuse, tumor, or some other health problem.
I strongly doubt that Roberts is having drug or alcohol problems, and his doctor is undoubtable screening him for neurological causes.
Most likely, he will be placed on a minimal dosage of an anti-epileptic. There are MANY types on the market, enough that it's fairly trivial (if time consuming) for a patient to find one that controls the seizures and has no side effects. With Roberts' seizures so rare, unless they have a specific cause (tumor, etc), a minimal dose will most likely prevent them.
It won't interfere with his job -- people with constant seizures generally have to put up with noticeable side effects because they need higher dosages and preciesly targeted drugs to prevent frequent seizures. People like myself -- pretty much any drug works, at the lowest effective dosage.
Keppra doesn't even make me sleepy. Tegretol was fine (although the potential for liver damage was worrisome). Dilantin was a pain, though -- I'd have risked the seizures rather than stay on that stuff.
Worst case for Roberts, assuming it isn't a symptom of a larger problem, is that he'll spend the next six months switching between drugs in order to find one that doesn't make him sleepy or unfocused. Frankly, he'll probably be just fine with whatever they try him on first.
If someone had never read, or heard of, Wonkette, then maybe. But why would that someone be pretending to be a competent political blogger?
Ceterum censeo, Iran delenda est!
It was only a few days ago that they went wildly over the line trying to employ ironic anti-semitism. I mostly liked the first iteration of Wonkette, when they stuck to sex, corruption, and similr sources of humor. It's gotten more strident and partisan with recent editors (I've also been a big fan in the pat of its current editor) and suffers from the problem of hard-hitting political comedy - it's really hard to do without screwing up.
Current top post is Sen. Norm Coleman's college picture with long hair stoner appearance. Great piece, hilarious, but one question: what college student worries about ending up in an auto body shop? If it had been his high school yearbook it would have been perfect, but everyone in college, especially in the 70s, expected a great job or a career in activism. Another example of trying too hard.