Rick Harrison’s wild youth: Epileptic seizures at 8, rehab at 14 | Forward Progress

0:00This episode is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Company. No matter how you do game day, on the couch, in the crowd, or manning the snack table, Athletic Brewing fits right in. With a full lineup of non-alcoholic beer styles, you can enjoy bold flavors all game long. No hangovers, no buzz, no subbing out for water in the second half. Stock the fridge for tip-off with a variety of non-alcoholic craft styles available at your local grocery store or online at athleticbrewing.com. Your beer, fit for all times. Ugh. You said you were over him, but his hoodie is still in your rotation. It's time. Grab your phone, snap a few pics, and sell it on Depop, listed in minutes, with no selling fees.

0:41And just like that, a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure. And right on cue, Hey, still got my hoodie? Nope. But I've got tonight's dinner paid for. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. List now with no selling fees. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. Hey, it's Graham. Our past in-depth guests have shared so many inspirational stories about overcoming adversity and tackling the darkest and most challenging times in their lives. We're sharing one of those moments in today's Thursday podcast in the hope that it provides a blueprint for any difficulties you might be facing.

1:19This week, Rick Harrison.

1:26So I wanted to take you back to when you were a kid growing up. Explain why you couldn't play Little League. Okay, so when I was a kid at eight years old, I got epilepsy. It happens to kids all the time. And a lot of times I'd have seizures so bad that it would pull the muscles in my legs and my back so bad that it would tear muscles and I couldn't walk for a week or two. to grand mal epilepsies? Okay, yeah, so I had grand mal seizures. Those are, there's. What are they and then like how often they would happen? They would happen every couple months. It used to be called benign childhood epilepsy.

2:03There's nothing really benign about it, but like most, 50 % of kids grow out of epilepsy. By the time they're 18 years old, it just stops. They don't know why. There's a lot of theories on it, you know. But. What would happen to you when you were having one? Oh no, I, you know, fall to fall, fall to the ground, It sounds like start flipping like a catfish, yeah. Yeah, and really violently, yeah. You had this reoccurring nightmare where you thought you were going to be going down the stairs one day and just fall, having a seizure, and die, and that was going to be it. Yeah. Why? You know, I grew up in a time where even today, people really don't talk about epilepsy.

2:41It's one of the most least talked about diseases. But, you know, I was just constantly reminded that, like, you know, something bad could happen any minute like you're done you're done yeah yeah it's like you feel like you're having a seizure or something like that don't be walking close to a street don't want to be walking downstairs stuff like that and i always had this like dream i'm just gonna fall down some stairs and die could you feel something coming before oh yeah usually most people with that blub see they can feel it coming on and uh so uh i mean usually i mean almost every time i had a seizure it was at night i'd wake up i'd feel it coming on like i'd run to my parents room you like or sometimes i didn't make it to the room it falls you know just fall in the hallway or something like that and would they find you or would you just wake up yeah just wake up you know chew my chew the hell out of my tongue all that yeah what were the bouts of blindness that you would have uh yeah so uh that was right around when i was like 14 15 years old uh i would just start walking along everything go dark and it's you know once i got older i found out that was that was a symptom some people have with epilepsy but i would just like get 30 seconds i can't see nothing But I wouldn't tell my parents because I was afraid I couldn't get a driver's license.

3:47Did you ever have it while you were driving? No. Okay. No. But soon after I started driving, they just started going away. I was 18 years old. The last one happened. How did that impact risk appetite on your end at that time? That, I mean, no, because I figured I was going to, I mean, I used to do crazy shit all the time. Well, it didn't matter because I figured I was going to die anytime soon anyway. I mean, it was sort of like pounded in my brain. You know, you could die. If you have a seizure at any time moment and die, I might figure. So by the time I'm like a teenager, I'm thinking, the fuck, I'm going to die anyway.

4:17I can do anything. You wrote in your book, I was a terrible kid. Just awful. One of the worst. Oh, I was. Yeah. How so? Oh, no. I mean, like, no, we were just bad. I mean, like, this is, you know, we'd steal a car. We were like, on the other side of town, we had to get home. We'd steal a car. We did that multiple. Yeah, steal a motorcycle. That's how we get home. And you ever get home? Let's just ditch school. Let's not go. I mean, there was times when I didn't go to school for two weeks. And my friends, like all of us, we told our parents we're going to the midnight movies. We're at a bonfire on the beach, Fiesta Island, smoking pot, drinking beer until 2 o 'clock in the morning because supposedly we're at the midnight movies.

4:53Didn't you steal your dad's motor home? Yeah, I stole my dad's motor home. Unfortunately, there was something wrong with it and the battery died on it. I couldn't get to Vegas. I was, like I said, it was, first, I had a weird childhood. I mean, like, literally, you know, my parents threw me in a drug rehab because I was like, I don't know, I wasn't a drug, I was just doing crazy shit. At 14, right? Yeah. Well, but you, I think you smoked pot in, like, fourth grade for the first time. Which, I mean, that's young. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and no, but I just, I don't know, like it was just sort of a free-for-all, do anything, you know, live life while I can because it's all going to fall apart.

5:39I really did believe that I was eventually going to have that seizure and die. What sorts of drugs did you do back then? Well, it was the 80s. It was booger sugar. Okay. Yeah, no, but like that was the culture back then. It was a different world. Yeah, I mean, I... More significant than that ever? Like, I mean, heroin or whatever? No, no, no. Not like that. Got it. No. No, I mean, to this day, I have no idea why anyone would ever do heroin or meth. Because, like, you want to do some heroin? It's worked out for so many other people. Eczema is unpredictable. But you can flare less with Epglyss, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema.

6:20After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in ten people taking EBCLIS achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EBCLIS, LibriKizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per two milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies.

6:49EBCLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBCLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBCLIS. Before starting EBCLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about EBCLIS and visit EBCLIS.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin. Way better than points.

7:22Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with Kayak and get your trip right. Bad advice? You talking to me? Kayak. Got that right.

7:43When they put you in the rehab at 14, what did that entail? It was just like, it was like, literally like, let's do counseling every day, counseling everything. Oh, I know drugs are bad, but like, I sort of got a screwed up life. And then that was like one of the worst things they ever did to me, because they gave me like an IQ test and said, you know, you're a genius. and then which is the worst thing in the world you could do a cocky kid because I'm like, well, I'm a genius. I don't need to listen to you people. You're stupid. Although in fairness, you said in your book that that was the first time there was a person of authority that wasn't your parents that gave you, that helped in building your confidence that actually told you you're smart and not a f*** up or something.

8:34Yeah, I mean, yeah, so for the first, like, 4 o 'clock in the afternoon, I'm kind of a zombie, because they're giving me Phenobarbital every morning for my epilepsy. Okay? That was, that's why I hate government health care. They give you the cheapest. Back then, they had different drugs for epilepsy back then, but that was the cheapest one. And my dad was in the Navy, so we went to the Navy doctors, so you got the cheapest drug. And your dad, to his credit, stayed in the Navy for a longer time because of your epilepsy. My dad, one of the most amazing, whatever, he stayed in the, My sister had Down syndrome.

9:06He tried to get out of the Navy after his first term, but the medical bills were so much, he had to go back in. And once they found out I had epilepsy, he was going to get out of the Navy, but he found out I had epilepsy. He had no idea what the medical bills were or anything, so he stayed in the Navy. And your sister passed when you were two. She was six. Yeah, I was like two years old when she passed. I don't remember. But so you're in this rehab. How did you end up getting clean eventually? because you said I got a girl pregnant I got to be a father I got to be a father okay 100 % yeah they're just like that was it yeah yeah yeah no I was my dad was my dad like you know you're a dad you have responsibilities yeah there is no choice you're a dad you're a dad yeah that's it for now but if you're hungry for more in-depth with Graham Bensinger interviews head over to youtube.com slash Graham Bensinger you can dive into our deep library which includes more than 2 ,000 clips spanning 12-plus years.

10:06Thanks again for listening.

10:31Hurry! This deal for$149 or less is like your phone at 1%. It's about to power down. Limited time offer for new clients on federal returns. Participating locations only. Terms at jacksonnewit.com slash 149.