By Jane M.
I've had epilepsy since I was five-years old and spent my childhood in and out of the hospital. My seizures got to be so bad as a child (I would even have them in my sleep) that by sixth grade I had to get home schooling because I would not make it a whole day without having a seizure. I probably would have at least five to six seizures a day when I was little.
Thank God that by the time I was 12, my seizures were controlled, and I didn't have to face the torture of being made fun of by other kids (in high school that is) because of my seizures.
I am 30 years old, and have been taking medication since I was five every day. I will be taking medication until I die.
I almost died when I was 23 because I had a seizure while driving. If I wasn't wearing my seat belt, I would have gone right through the windshield. Anyways, because of the medication my period has never been regular, and I presume that it will be very difficult for me to get pregnant. Honestly I am not sure I am able (which is torturous because I have always wanted kids). As we speak, I am in transition from one medication to another because the medication that I have been taking for 15 years causes such severe birth defects that in case I do get pregnant, I’d have no choice but to have an abortion.
I still get slightly embarrassed sometimes about my condition. Don't know why, but I do. I think some people are afraid of it. I see it in their eyes when I tell them, and they get taken aback. I have come a long way. I don't put my head down when I tell people like I use to when I was a teenager, but I have accepted the fact that it’s a part of my life and that it’s a part of who I am.
