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Two years ago today I was diagnosed with Epilepsy.  This came after numerous rounds of tests and battles trying to understand what was happening to me. This resulted in me having to leave Drama School in London, surrender my Driving Licence and put everything on hold. After 6 months of medication I was told I did not have Epilepsy but in fact something called NEAD (Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder) or Disassociate Seizures.

It is estimated that 20% of people who are initially diagnosed with Epilepsy in fact have NEAD.  I found my diagnosis very difficult to accept and hard to adjust to. As a result, my condition got worse, the seizures increased and I was unable to do anything. Walking around the garden became my daily challenge and some days that wasn’t even possible! I then found out I had also had glandular fever and on top of two lots of COVID this made my physical recovery a whole lot harder and slower.

However after a hard 2 years I have come a long way in the last year.  I have learned to manage my seizures and get back to doing normal day to day activities.  I am now working full-time in Event Management and I’m getting stronger day by day and more confident in what I can do again.  I have been seizure-free for 6 months which is the longest time in 5 years! I still have work to do, you can’t just get a quick fix, but part of my recovery is being able to talk about my NEAD.  I have had incredible support from family and friends and I’m so grateful for that!

So I have decided that on the 2nd April 2023 I am going to run the Brighton Marathon in aid of the Epilepsy Action and to prove to myself that walking around the garden was an achievement of the past! I am running the marathon alongside my friend Grace Whalley, who I was living with at Drama School and has really been there the whole way.  I am not trying to break any records, just complete it, and I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else!

If you would like to sponsor us by making a donation that would be amazing! We have set ourselves the target of £5000. Thank you for your support - it means a lot xx

The link below gives more information about my condition. 

https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/seizures/dissociative-seizures-non-epileptic-attack-disorder-nead