This summer, I will be walking 500 miles across the Northern coast of Spain. I will be following the Northern Route of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrims’ route from San Sebastian to Santiago. Like the olden days, I will not be using any form of transport and it will take me roughly 5 weeks.

Why am I doing this to myself? Well, because I can! I'm hoping to raise a lot of money for some charities that are very personal to me, and I’d be so grateful for your support:

A few hundred years ago, people would have thought I was touched by God or the Devil. I probably would have been burnt as a witch. Luckily, I was born in this century, and I was diagnosed with epilepsy instead.

I had my first seizure about 6 years ago, and my epilepsy still confuses me. We might not call it witchcraft any more, but we all still struggle to
understand and control the condition.

About 1 in 100 people have epilepsy, and some people with epilepsy are affected daily by the condition. Each year, over 1000 people in the UK die suddenly and unexpectedly due to epilepsy –
and it is a mystery to doctors and researchers why.

I am relatively lucky, and my medication controls my seizures. I can live an independent life. But even without the seizures, I can never quite forget I have this condition. 

The medication can affect other medicines, including contraceptives and basic over-the-counter drugs that most people take for granted. This is something the doctors can't get around at the moment, and there is continuing research into various different combinations and side-effects for treatments. 

Epilepsy Research UK is the only charity in the UK dedicated to
independent research into epilepsy and treatments. They put about
£800,000 into research every year, and at this time of government cuts and higher education funding concerns, having an independent research body is worth supporting.

Epilepsy is still so misunderstood by so many. Let's break the fear and taboo around it!

Thank you for reading my story and donating.