For most of the nearly eight years that Allen and Katie Dobbs have been married, their life together has been relatively normal. At least as normal as a golf course superintendent couple could hope for.
That all changed in March when Allen, the head superintendent at three-course Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, began having seizures in his sleep.
After Hobbs spent a week in a Virginia hospital, doctors were not able to reach any conclusions and dismissed his seizures as epilepsy. Since October, Dobbs, 33, has been having seizures daily and sometimes multiple times per day, said Katie.
Those seizures have become severe and sometimes violent, with one lasting as long as 18 hours. Dobbs has since been diagnosed with Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures, which is described by the Cleveland Clinic as "attacks that resemble epilepsy-related seizures that are due to underlying psychological distress, not abnormal electrical activity in your brain." Each event is preceded by an aura, or advance seizure, that warns Dobbs of what is coming. It takes anywhere from just a few minutes to 40 minutes or more before he can return to normal activity, his wife says.
"Today, he's called me three times from work," Katie said. "I know that at some point tonight he's going to have a seizure."
The family is hoping to get a service dog specifically trained for people who suffer from seizures. A service dog could be trained to recognize an aura and thus anticipate an oncoming seizure, warn a family member or colleague that an episode has occurred and stay with the patient until the event has passed. Such a dog can cost between $15,000 and $20,000, and Katie has established a GoFundMe account to help cover the cost of the dog.
"It's hard. This has been a lot," Katie said. "We have to learn how to get used to our new normal. A dog would help us with that so we can start living our lives again."
Coinciding with the escalation in the severity of seizures was the October death of Dobbs' paternal grandmother, Peggy Dobbs, in Collinsville, Alabama. The trauma associated with the death of a loved one jolted a deep secret free from the recesses of Dobbs' subconscious, as he suddenly recalled an undisclosed ordeal from his youth.
"In October, his personality completely changed," Katie said. "It was immediately after the funeral in Alabama."
Dobbs, who is father to Anderson, age 4, and 2-year-old Shepard, experienced an episode at work while driving a utility vehicle on one of Kingsmill's three golf courses. A tree was the only thing between him and driving over a cliff to almost certain death — literally.
Going to work each day — and making the hour-long drive each way — has necessitated developing a set of protocols if he feels a seizure coming on while away from home. Those plans include pulling off the road at the onset of an aura, turning off the car and remaining seated in a reclining position until the episode has ended.
Today, he's called me three times from work. I know that at some point tonight he's going to have a seizure.
"That's when I really think a dog would be most helpful. It can stay with him and comfort him until he reboots," Katie said. “Sometimes, his pride gets in the way. He’s the provider of our family and he wants to provide us with a good life."
According to Dobbs' care team that includes doctors, a psychologist and a therapist, the seizures can be treated with psychotherapy. His providers have said it is likely that the episodes eventually will decrease in number and severity, but probably will never cease entirely.
"We're in a battle," Katie said. "In the end, I know the Lord will see us through this. That's what gets us through this every day."
