Hi, I’m Emily. I found out I had epilepsy in early 2012 when I was visiting my parents with my son and husband when I had an absence seizure. I had just returned to work following maternity leave and was incredibly stressed with the changes at work, the new pressures and lack of time I could spend with my family, coupled with long shifts and changes in hours. I had a CT scan, MRI and EEG which didn’t really show a cause of the seizure, but I had a few more absences and was commenced on AEDs and these seemed to keep the seizures at bay, until just before I gave birth to my daughter in 2016, when I had my first tonic clonic seizures. I had these regularly in the first year of my daughter being born and then they stopped. Medications were increased over the course of that year, until seemingly they were controlled. I thought, yes I have them under control. Then in December 2020, I was working long shifts, really stressed, tired and recently had a miscarriage when I had a tonic clonic. I had been nearly 4 years seizure free, it knocked me sideways and I felt really low and depressed. I have recently had another tonic clonic in front of my children and they were frightened. I want to use this course to help me better manage my seizures, recognize when I am stressed and take some time out, and learn how to talk about it with others. There is a lack of information and you only get 5 minutes every 6 months with a healthcare professional so I feel now is my opportunity to become an expert about my epilepsy.
