No memory of the performance, the songs, the uniform, the venue, or even the result. While her teammates can look back and reminisce about the experience, for Molly, that entire day is simply gone.
She said: “I was so excited for my first competition and I want to say it was so much fun but if I’m being honest I can’t remember it at all and it sucks!”
But the impact of epilepsy goes even further, with key moments from her younger years also affected. “A lot of my childhood memories are completely wiped out and it upsets me. When I was younger I would sit and play classical piano for hours – it would fill the whole house with sound and my parents loved it. But while I can remember taking lessons at school and having the piano at home, I can’t remember playing it much all.
Molly wants everyone to know epilepsy is more about just seizures and how memory can be affected.
“Even those closest to me still get shocked by things I don’t remember. I would just want people to know that I am not making this up or over reacting about it -it affects my daily life, my job and my relationships. I try so hard to set reminders but that doesn’t always cover it. I would hope people would be more empathetic about it too instead of being shocked saying ‘you really don’t remember’ in an accusing tone as they act as if it doesn’t upset me at all.”