Emma was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1987 after suffering a head injury. Emma shares the challenges she has faced and why she decided to write a book and how it helped her cope with her epilepsy.

My epilepsy started after a head injury as a child. It caused so many challenges such as struggling in school, working, and driving.

Many times, my epilepsy causes challenges such as losing my driving licence three times and losing three jobs and losing two friends to epilepsy.

My children hoped for lifts, but I could not help. I had always dreamed of becoming an author since I was little.

But it was only after I lost my third job, I was determined to publish my book Jo’s hidden secrets to raise epilepsy awareness and hidden disabilities awareness as well as money for charities and make epilepsy information packs for schools.

I could not afford publishing costs, so was grateful to the listening people charity who published and edited it for me as I am never confident with computers and struggled in school too.

Writing helped me

Writing my book helped me cope with my epilepsy as all the tears and frustration with my epilepsy had built up over the past 40 years.

From wishing I could turn back time to stop the head injury happening, to wishing I could drive. But now I try to focus on the positive side of my epilepsy.

Without my epilepsy I would not have written my book, or I would still be 20 stone as not driving made me walk everywhere.

I would not have raised £20,000 for charities or donated 10,000 epilepsy information packs to schools and libraries and charities and good causes or would not have started my fundraising for mental health packs for high schools.

It is always important to focus on the positive side of things.

Stigma still attached to epilepsy

I still feel the stigma attached to epilepsy. Such as challenges working or showing my disabled bus pass on a bus and the driver looks me up and down making me feel like I must prove why I have it.

I feel the judgement of me losing my driving licence to epilepsy as some people assume I deserved to lose my licence e.g. they think I lost it for drinking alcohol when I never have as I have been on medication since I was seven.

I feel judged for not working or why I use a disabled toilet, or people think I am drunk when I am having a seizure.

Raising epilepsy awareness is so important to me which is why I spend all my free time fundraising for epilepsy charities and five other charities, making epilepsy information packs and raising hidden disabilities awareness.

To other people who have just been diagnosed with epilepsy, I would say there is so many wonderful charities out there to help you.

Be open about your epilepsy. There is support out there.

It was not until the third time I lost my driving licence I found out about access to work which funded taxis to get me to and from work. It gave me independence and less reliance on lifts.

My epilepsy made me passionate about raising epilepsy away and money for epilepsy charities. There is great support out there.

You can find out more via Emma’s Instagram page by clicking here.