Amanda’s Story (Epilepsy)

My name is Amanda and I am 21 years old. I am an epileptic as a result of an injury that I sustained because a man slipped something in my drink on my 21st birthday. I passed out from a bar stool and landed on my face and ever since then I have had seizures. If I had hit my head just half  an inch over I would have died from hitting my temple.

At first it was very hard to accept it and I tried to get over the fact that someone would do that to me. I essentially locked myself up in my room and never left my house and didn’t eat. I’ve had to switch medications three times now and if you’re an epileptic, you understand how hard it is to adjust to the medicines.

When I dated the first man since I was diagnosed with epilepsy, I ended up miscarrying his child in which he denied it being his and called me horrible names and told me to go to hell. My baby was 5 weeks and 3 days old. One day I was playing with my three year old nephew and suddenly something just snapped inside of me. I started designing parts of songs and inspirational quotes to tape up on a wall in my room. As I designed my way across the wall I grew stronger. I realized that I needed to fight for my unborn baby, my family, and for MYSELF. It was then that I made the decision that I want to be an Adolescent Counselor to help people through rough patches in their lives.

I also want to be a Graphic Designer to design the t-shirts and posters for charity benefits to raise money to find the cure for multiple diseases and to raise awareness for things like depression and bullying. My first idea is to have a walk for Autism and have it be at night and have the path lit up blue and to have everyone wear blue glowing necklaces and whatever blue lights they can find that glow. I want to find ways to let people see the world through other people’s eyes.

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and that God wouldn’t have let me live through what happened to me if he didn’t think I could handle it. I believe I was meant to live to help others cope with the hurdles that life throws at us. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter, who is without flaw? I’m not afraid of failure, as long as I know I tried my best and that failing was inevitable.

Amanda
Missouri
Submitted 1-21-12

The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.

This story is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.