Epilepsy Curse, Disorder or Disease??

Hello my beautiful lovely dolls,

Today I'm going to step away from fashion and make up for the moment and talk about lifestyle, particularly my lifestyle. You see I have epilepsy and it fascinates me how ignorant and misinformed some people are about the condition.

I have lived with epilepsy since I was 13, yes at first I was upset I even cried to my dad that I didn't want to have epilepsy. Why? I hear you ask. Well for starters I didn't want to be considered different from my friends, I didn't want them treating me differently, I didn't want to have the seizures, I also felt that I wouldn't be able to go to concerts and when I was old enough to clubs and I also wanted to drive. Something I wouldn't be able to do until the seizures were under control.

However, as the years went on I was told that I would be able to go clubbing with friends and to concerts as my type of epilepsy wasn't affected by flashing lights, something I thought was the only thing to affect epilepsy. I wasn't treated differently by my friends in fact some even took the time to research the condition and see what it was they were supposed to do if they ever saw me have a seizure. This came into practice during a maths lesson when I suddenly fell out of my seat and started making noises. All the "popular" girls screamed and started crying, yet one of my friends was able to tell the teacher what was happening and they called the first aider and when I came round I thought I had fallen asleep which I was so panicky about lol.

Anyways, I grew out of it or I thought I did, during an AS exam I ended up having another seizure after been seizure free for two years, which meant my dreams of learning to drive were quashed again. I was also put back on my Anti Epileptic Drugs (AEDs) and was told my epilepsy was probably hormonal related as well as affected by lack of sleep, lack of food and lack of non alcoholic fluid. Yet they still can't be sure. I have most recently had one outside of work falling on the public footpath and cutting my head. Thankfully a nice Samaritan stayed with me until I came round. First thing I did was check to see if I still had my phone and purse. I know terrible to think that someone would mug me whilst going through that. Thankfully I still had them on me, my dad came to pick me up and the second I got home my mum phoned for an ambulance. I am happy to say I wasn't that badly injured, just a grazed knee and bump to the end I also ended up with a black eye the next day lol.

So going back to the post title epilepsy has been thought of many ways, in the victorian times I would have been considered to be possessed or a witch so many were hanged, in the 1920s I would have been sent to a mental institution and would have had shock therapy. Some would have even said I was cursed and that God hated me and that was the reason I was like I am. Then when research developed a bit more they saw it as a disorder something which I first called it, but then I thought of it as a condition and nothing more. I am living with a condition end of, yet most recently I read an article saying Epilepsy is a disease, why? Well for many reasons, some being it is progressive, it can cause death, it affects pregnancy (something I am looking into more as I'm at an age where I think of having my own family), also there is no cure for it and therefore is considered a none contagious neurological disease. Yet I still believe in my heart that it is not a disease and I think the photo below really hits to what is. Some people are really ignorant when it comes to this condition. I saw a woman in Boots have a seizure and no one but me helped her. I calmed her down and told her what had happened and that she had a cut lip. I told her she hadn't had an accident in terms of wetting herself (something some people do when having a seizure I'm not one of them thankfully).

Did you know that the ribbon for epilepsy is awareness? Strange to think that as it's my favourite colour and I live with epilepsy. I do not suffer from it like some people think we do. Far from it, those who have Epilepsy live with it, they go about their normal lives they have no limitations. They or rather we live our lives like any one else. We do not suffer as we do not have pain every day, we do once we have a seizure, but we LIVE with the CONDITION. Not disease or disorder or curse but condition.

November is Epilepsy awareness month, will you be wearing the purple ribbon or a purple piece of clothing to raise awareness. I do every year, I'm an advocate for Epilepsy Action as well as being an advocate for Breakthrough Breast cancer. Two conditions that I hold close to my heart and like the photo below says, Brains are as equally important as Boobs. Which reminds me are you checking your bangers regularly? Give them some TLC each month Touch, do the feel different Look do they look different? is there a change in shape, texture, colour? Check see if there are other signs and look them up.

Who do you wear purple for? Do you live with epilepsy or know someone who does?