Support Through Hard Journeys

I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 6 years old. I have absence seizures. They disrupt my life. Epilepsy doesn’t care if you are at school or having fun, or even just at home. Most of my seizures were so short they weren’t harmful until they started happening in unsafe places. I once had one in the pool and slipped and went under the water. Thankfully, my brother was there to help me. Then, another time, I was riding my bike and had a seizure, and I fell off my bike near the road. I have had countless seizures and EEGs. Epilepsy recently started to trigger Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) and tonic-clonic seizures, which have caused me even more harm. 

People used to think I was just ignoring them. But I was actually having an absence seizure. So then I started to talk to people and educate them on epilepsy and the different types of seizures.

It’s great to educate people and spread awareness. Some people aren’t going to be open to it, or still might not understand. That’s okay. You did your part. It’s on them to decide if they want to listen and understand or not. You will get stares. You will get some mean comments here and there, but never stop being you! We are all here for you, and we understand and listen. We love and support you.

 I have been going to Camp Oz for two years. It is amazing because I felt typical and was not worried about my seizures while at camp. Nobody looked at me any differently, and it holds a special place in my heart. I met people who have epilepsy, which was a very cool experience. I’m proud to call them my friends. We understand each other, both struggles and small victories. I also did the Epilepsy Walk in 2024. It was a very fun - but cold - experience. This year, I participated in the Purple Pumpkin Project. I had so much fun making that pumpkin and spreading the word. 

I have wanted to share my story for a while, but I just didn’t know where to start. So, I did a disability advocacy comedy routine for this awesome organization called Miss Amazing. Then I wanted to share my story with even more people, especially since it is so unique. I have a lot of different disabilities that affect a lot of different things. One of them is epilepsy, so I thought I would share my epilepsy story first. We need to stick together and support each other along these hard journeys through epilepsy. We need a cure!