“Somebody helped me that day. I don’t know who they were, but that simple act meant so much to me!”
Andy Dreighton, 54, from Harrogate, knows firsthand how crucial the support of others can be when you live with epilepsy.
Andy has had epilepsy since the age of 16. For him, it’s something “constantly in the background”. He has tonic-clonic seizures, which he says are unpredictable. They could be at bay for long periods of time, or they could be more frequent and disrupt his life.
Keeping fit and staying active is important for Andy, helping him boost his wellbeing and mental health. But it was during one of his runs that he found himself in need of help.
“I was on a training run in Leeds. It was a run from the outskirts into the city centre. I had a seizure and smashed my head open.
“The person who found me probably thought I’d been stabbed or mugged, because, unfortunately, I had a big gash in the back of my head where I landed.
“The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital. So, for want of a better word, the period between running and coming round was deleted.
“A paramedic told me that someone had left their coat under my head to protect it while I was having the seizure.”
Become an ally
Andy is taking part in Epilepsy Action’s new campaign, ‘Could I Count on You?’, which launched today.
This is Epilepsy Action’s biggest awareness raising campaign so far, asking people to connect with the real-life struggles people with epilepsy can face and to become epilepsy allies.
When someone has a seizure in public, many people can go into ‘flight mode’ – freezing, looking away or hoping someone else will step in. But, as Andy says, being someone people can count on really does matter and make a difference. And Epilepsy Action says it’s easier than you think.
Sign up with us to receive clear, simple guidance on what to do to support someone having a seizure.
The campaign will feature on billboards around the UK, as well as online and on social media.
Willing to help
While Andy has had people step in and help when he’s had a seizure, he’s also experienced people on ‘flight mode’.
He said: “I was on holiday one year with my wife – we’d been at the seaside and just got some fish and chips to eat at the seafront. I had a seizure and yet no-one came to help us that day. People just walked by as if I was drunk or on drugs, completely ignoring us.
“It was hard, not just for me but for my wife too, knowing that some people just weren’t willing to help.”
But despite this, Andy fervently looks for and believes in the good in people. “I think the media likes to portray a world, at the moment, where everyone is unpleasant. They’re selfish, they get out their phones and film you… Maybe I’m naïve, but I don’t believe that.
“I’ve always helped other people. I recently helped an old lady to cross the road. She just looked a bit lost and was about to step out into the traffic. So, I went to walk across the road with her. Simple as that.
“And I think most people would do the same. If you think of a shopping centre, for example, with 100 people there, I’d like to think that at least one of those 100 people would help me. I know that, because I’ve experienced it.”
Visit our website to find out more about becoming an epilepsy ally and being someone people with epilepsy could count on.
