A Difficult Challenge

It started early one beautiful sunny morning when I was 46 years old. My husband Dennis was getting ready to leave for his commute to work in Sydney. I rolled over for another hour of sleep. 

On waking slowly, I saw a stranger sitting on the bed. Another stood in the doorway. I realised they were ambulance officers. 

‘Hi Wendy, you’re awake now.’

Dennis was kneeling beside the bed. ‘You gave us such a fright. You’ve had a convulsion. We’re going to hospital to see if you’re ok.’ I felt fine, just a bit shaky.

It was my first ride in an ambulance. I chatted away. I could see Dennis in the car following and gave him a wave, but he couldn’t see me.

The hospital staff gathered around, checking, testing, taking blood. After a few hours of observation, I was allowed home. I felt no different. We made a quick stop on the way to reassure my frantic mother.

Later that same day we saw my GP. Two days later, I had an MRI at Royal North Shore Hospital. Next, an appointment with a Neurologist. Doctor C. became part of my life for the next 10 years. His diagnosis was Epilepsy. I hadn’t realised that the odd feelings of confusion I’d been having were actually “petit mal”, an early indication of epilepsy. There was no clear cause. Regular monitoring and medication was to be ongoing.

My family and friends were relieved. Everyone but me thought it could have been a lot more sinister.

For the next seven years I visited Doctor C. on a regular basis. I tried many medications. Some gave me side effects like hair loss and nausea and didn’t solve the problem. During this time, I had about seven more severe seizures and most required a trip to hospital.

Finally I was introduced to the Magic Pill. It’s effects were amazing.  After another 3 years, Doctor C. was satisfied that the pill was doing its job. ‘I don’t want to see you anymore,’ he told me. 

I continue taking this pill to this day. It has been 20 years since my last seizure.

I tell myself and others, ‘I used to suffer Epilepsy’.  One in 20 people will have a “once off” epileptic seizure at least once in their life, and this does not necessarily mean they have epilepsy. Over 250,000 Australians are currently living with epilepsy, and about 60 million worldwide. It’s more common than many people realise.