Jan Follett

"I have had left temporal lobe epilepsy for approximately 35 years and still have about around seven to ten seizures monthly. I am married and have a 20 year old daughter.

"Locally, I give talks on epilepsy to student nurses and doctors and I gave a talk in Copenhagen to a medical conference at the request of my consultant.

"I have always wanted to teach and I qualified as a teacher. I taught at a school for deaf children where I further qualified with a British Association of the Deaf certificate. I wanted to teach children who also had an invisible handicap. When we lived in Hampshire I taught daily but when we moved to the Wirral I was put on the supply teaching list but rarely asked to work. I grew tired of this and now work regularly voluntarily for Helplink, a CVS Community Support Group. I visit the elderly and the housebound. I also work at a residential home on a part-time basis.

"I took an Open University degree after trial brain surgery. Unfortunately my case was not considered suitable for full surgery, my epilepsy did not make studying easy but I am really proud to say that I graduated with a BA (Hons) in philosophy.

"I was elected to Council in 1998 and re-elected in June 2000."