Tash, 28, UK

Hi I’m Tash and I have had epilepsy since I was eighteen. I am now twenty eight and the last ten years have been quite a journey. I was well known for having a sociable, out-going and vibrant persona. Epilepsy has impacted my life and for a while I lost my vibrant edge but it is back and I am looking forward to the next ten years.

Like most teenagers I was out every weekend with friends drinking and clothes shopping (nothing expensive mind as I was on a budget). I had my first couple of seizures on nights out, obviously me and my friends did not know what they were. It was a frightening time as when I came to I had no memory of where I was or who my friends were. I was afraid to go to the doctors or tell my parents as I did not understand what was happening.

I finally visited the doctors after a seizure at work and had a series of tests, I was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy and my seizures were triggered by stress and tiredness. I started on medication that caused some side effects such as tiredness, drowsiness and a rash. In the beginning whilst my medication was still been tweaked I had a few seizures each day and a lot of time off work.

Once my body had adjusted to the medication, I managed twelve months without a seizure; I got back to work and started socialising more, swapping alcopops for soda pop. For my twenty-first birthday I was given two Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Chance and Raynor. With two fur babies it was getting a little crowded at my parents so I decided it was time to fly the nest and moved next door into rented accommodation. Luckily I didn’t move far as the frequency of my seizures started to increase again. Shopping was easy as I used to just pop into my mum’s kitchen and with her agreement help myself to whatever food was in the fridge or cupboards. One particular seizure occurred in winter; I collapsed outside on the concrete and was out in the cold for some time before I was found by my dad, which was a scary one for him!

As I hit my mid-twenties I decided to get a mortgage and change my career. I took a job in a care home, not far from my new home as I was still unable to drive. I am told that my upbeat personality keeps everyone at the home entertained; it is a very rewarding job. Unfortunately about a year after starting at the care home the frequency of my seizures increased again; at its peak I had 20 seizures in one day, which happened to be my birthday. My epilepsy went back to how it started, uncontrolled, long periods of time away from work, trips to specialists and tweaks to my medication. During this time I suffered many superficial injuries to my face and body; strangers would stare and sometimes joke that I must have “had a good night”, if only they knew the truth. I also had a seizure in the bath and woke up face to face with Raynor, my dog licking my face in a now empty bath with a broken plug. A few days later – whilst back at work – the bathroom memories of the incident came back to me along with the terror of feeling like I was drowning. To beat the images I would sing funny tunes in my head.

The worst seizure for me happened whilst I was out with my dogs enjoying a rare snow fall. During this seizure I soiled myself which had never happened to me before. I had to walk a few miles home and it felt like everyone in the village was out walking their dogs and knew what had happened. I was very embarrassed. In the months following I became very nervous about leaving the house and developed unusual patterns of behaviour. Eventually I asked for help and visited the Psychological Medication Department in Hull, where I was introduced to a great team of people. I attended a stress management course and was assigned a support worker, both of which helped me to build strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety alongside building my confidence. I did have one ironically timed seizure on the very last day of my stress management course, which gave us all a chuckle when I came round.

As I progressed with my strategies and with some more medication tweaks, my seizures began to decrease. I am incredibly grateful for the support my family, friends and the professionals have given me. My workplace have accommodated my epilepsy through being supportive and adapting my shifts.

I am currently planning my dream holiday with my best friend and family. I am eating healthily, exercising and socialising more. I feel lucky to be back in control of my life and believe a positive attitude helps keep me healthy.

In the future I hope to support others with epilepsy and raise awareness through sharing my experiences.

- September 15th, 2015

Contact info:

Twitter: @tashcolley220