Dobby

This is my epilepsy. After an initial tonic clonic seizure aged 14 which put me in hospital, I was left for the next 5 years having multiple absence and partial seizures which were passed off by my GP as panic attacks. When I suffered 3 more tonic clonic seizures over a 2 day period and was hospitalised again, I was finally diagnosed on my 19th birthday with epilepsy due to a scar on my left temporal lobe. I was initially relieved to finally have a diagnosis but then the fear set in. I became unaccepting of my condition and my life felt pretty pointless. The seizures had caused me to leave school early with no qualifications, had left me lonely and friendless and a shadow of my former self. After a long time feeling very down, I sought help through counselling and finally accepted that I had epilepsy, it wasn't going to go away but I could still live my life. I started volunteering in a local charity shop, became more confident, have made lifelong friends and met the man of my dreams who, in 3 months time, will be my husband. Life isn't always easy and my seizures mean I am currently unable to work but I am not defined by my epilepsy. It is a part of me and without it, I would never have met my wonderful hubby to be. I have epilepsy but it does not have me x