A car of friends arrive at NHS for the Homecoming dance. Music blasts from the speakers.  Happiness travels from person to person. Maddie Fischer and her friends arrive to the dance around 8:45 p.m. Nothing could’ve prepared Fischer for what was going to happen that night.

Within the final minutes of Neenah’s Homecoming of 2018, Fischer and her date have seizures on the dance floor. “I realized something was wrong when I couldn’t see anymore,” Fischer said.

She feels fine before the dance, at dinner, photos and even the car ride there. Fischer also a healthy girl who is a two-sport athlete. So what lead her to have a seizure?

“I think it was the heat, lights, the fog machine and the fact that there was no water didn’t help,” Fischer said. Without access to water, students becoming dehydrated is a concern. Along with all the other factors. 

As soon as the seizures start, the room becomes absolute chaos. Sirens scream, and hearts sink like a boat. Pulses start to race a mile a minute. The looks of shock jump from face to face.

“I woke up and I remember my mom telling me I have to get on the stretcher; I was confused.” 

She has a large bump on her head and a throbbing headache; otherwise there were no other injuries.

The combination of flashing lights, heat, a fog machine, and lack of water causes seizures to occur.  The freak incident taints Homecoming glory and memories.