My son and the John Lewis Christmas Advert

[Alice5]

My son had a subarachnoid brain haemorrhage 8 year ago. He's done remarkably well and to look at him you would never know. However his children and I know because there are some differences. He can be quick tempered, sometimes misinterpret what we are saying and can often have no filter regarding what he says. He cannot cope with too much going on and can become easily overwhelmed. Sometimes we are walking on egg shells. He tries to help but often that can go wrong and sometimes we can misinterpret his intentions

To get to the point, he asked me to tell you all that he feels like the dragon on the John Lewis advert. Like the dragon he wants to help but it can go wrong. The little girl tries to stop him by tying around his mouth and nose to stop him from breathing fire like my son who sometimes says whatever comes into his mind Like the dragon things can get too much and he can become a recluse in his cave where he can't upset people and get into trouble.

When the dragon enters the party everyone ducks because they don't know what to expect but all the dragon wants to do is be friendly and helpful and breathe fire on the brandy to light the Christmas pudding.

It made me feel quite sad when my son told me all this but actually he says it describes what his life is like. We all love him but we don't always understand him and vica versa, just like the dragon wasn't understood.

I wonder if anyone else on here can identify with my son and the little dragon...

[Mikey48]

I had my SAH in 2015 and recovered well. However, I suffered a one off seizure in 2018 and have had symptoms like those you describe but I put it down to the medication (Leveteracetum) I was put on to prevent more seizures which has many side effects. Maybe it does stem back to the SAH. I hope your son manages to have a good quality of life despite his issues.

[Alice5 in reply to Mikey48]

Thanks for your reply. My son does very well, works, cares for his children and can be sociable and also a recluse.

I thought it was interesting that he related to the advert.

He was on the same medication as you for about 8 months, I believe it's other name is Keppra, he put on a lot of weight and had terrible acne which he hadn't suffered from before. Fortunately he is now only on medication for high blood pressure.

I wish you all the best...