Jason Ward, now 23, was diagnosed with a severe case of epilepsy at the age of six. When he was growing up, his parents, siblings and everyone else around him knew to watch for the symptoms he would experience before a seizure. But this system of support wasn’t fail-safe. Ward would occasionally experience these events while out, away from anyone who knew what he needed at that moment.
After years of seizing in his body — not moments or opportunities — he finally got the call. Chester, a two-year-old black lab, was going to join him on his epilepsy journey.
Six months after Chester came into his life, Ward was still having difficulty with the transition. He took Chester everywhere, including the campus bar at the University of Texas. It turns out Chester is a great wing dog for meeting women — although Ward discovered Chester received most of the attention.
One day, Ward came home from a 14-hour day in class and placement. He noticed that Chester was acting erratically.
He took Chester to the 24-hour veterinarian on campus. Lucky for them both, U of T was the best teaching school for animal care. There was even a dog who was a doctor on staff. Julius, a golden retriever they nicknamed Dr. J, was the first dog in the United States to learn to detect epilepsy.
After several hours, Dr. J came to speak to Ward about Chester. “Sir, after countless tests, it is my expert opinion that your dog experienced a seizure. You’ll need to watch him for the rest of his life. Watch for any symptoms of another event and act as needed.”
It was a cruel twist of fate. He would be tasked with keeping an eye on his dog.
Ward thought about what his life would be like with Chester. He started to feel a little funny. He knew the symptoms. He crawled over to the dog for comfort. As he got there, lo and behold, the dog had already begun to seize. The canine and the man looked at each other. They thought to themselves, “How are we going to get out of this mess? Can he at least pass me my meds?”