Veteran looking for woman who helped during seizure

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - One Veteran is looking to reconnect with a woman who helped her through a seizure; a stranger at the right place at the right time.

Chris Stokes is a Veteran. She now has a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from her tour in in Afghanistan and has been experiencing seizures ever since.

“I’ve been near a couple of explosions that have caused me to have brain damage,” Stokes said.

Her latest seizure happened with no warning while she was in the check-out line at Lowe’s off of Highway 14 in Lake Charles.

“The next thing I remember, I’m on the ground and I’m coming to and there’s people surrounding me,” Stokes said. “I remember one lady in blue, with a blue shirt. Oh my gosh I’m going to cry. She had my head in her lap and I remember my hand was like this from the seizure and I was kind of waking up and she grabbed my hand and she held it. She was very comforting.”

Stokes posted to Facebook hoping to find the woman, but hasn’t had any luck so she brought her story to 7News.

“I would really like to find this woman that doesn’t know me and was there for me,” she said.

Stokes told KPLC she was surprised and grateful that a stranger stepped in to help and was calm during the seizure.

Now she wants to remind others how to help if they witness someone experiencing a seizure in public.

“If you see someone having a seizure, make sure they don’t hit their head on the ground, roll them on their side, don’t stick anything in their mouth because that’s a common misconception, look for a medical bracelet and if you do have a medical problem, make sure you do get a medical bracelet,” she said. “It could save your life.”

In the meantime, Stokes’s dog, Mello, is training to be a service dog to detect her seizures. Brothers and Sisters in Arms Service Dogs provides the training at no cost to veterans, active duty, first responders or their dependents. Mello is expected to be certified within the year.

Stokes said she hopes this may provide some more independence in her life since right now she’s not even allowed to drive.

“Can’t even drive to the gas station and get a drink, a service dog in your life is going to be able to detect that if you’re driving or if you’re in public and let you know ‘hey you need to lay down you’re about to have a seizure’.”

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