Lauren, 17, USA

Hi! I'm Lauren and I'm 17 years old. My story starts way back when I was almost two years old when I had my first seizure. I was rushed to the ER and had a CT scan which had normal results so doctors told my parents to just watch me for a year for more seizures. I didn't have any more until a year ago.

I had a grand mal seizure at school and went straight to the hospital after to be evaluated. It was really embarrassing because all my classmates saw it happen. I developed severe anxiety – fear of having more seizures in front of people. This stress caused more seizures to come.

The thing is, all the tests I've ever had for seizures have normal results (EEGs and MRIs). Over the summer I was finally diagnosed with Frontal Lobe Epilepsy. It's hard to diagnose and it takes time. Most of these seizures happen at night during sleep, which makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning for another few hours. It just knocks me out! I miss a lot of school because of that and I also have memory problems. I get very tired very easily.

My biggest fear is not waking up in the morning after a nocturnal seizure. But now that I've been on a new medication, I have been seizure free for almost a month now and I couldn't be happier! It's been a rough year, being in and out of hospitals for testing and seizure injuries and migraines, but I've come a long way and I have learned that by sharing my story I can inspire other people with similar issues to keep fighting!

I have changed my diagnoses into something positive and couldn't be happier with the way my life turned out!

- December 3rd, 2014

Contact info: Email: lpearce-morin15@phsportlandct.us