Personal stories

Emma Griffith explains how being supported by the Epilepsy Society's Chalfont Centre for a decade has helped her to turn her life around and encouraged her to share her story.

Neill Lowdon is an artist from Cornwall who has recently sold 35 of his paintings to raise money for us. Here, he talks about leaving a legacy to Epilepsy Society in his will.

Kerry Pates was just 19 years old when she died of SUDEP. Karen Pates describes the impact of her daughter Kerry's death.

Edinburgh-based artist has produced a series of pictures which explores living with epilepsy.

Gina believes that her epilepsy helped her to embrace new career opportunities.

Michelle Hackett was 16 years old when she had her first baby, a little girl called Courtney. Michelle was taken into hospital with pneumonia and Courtney was born by Caesarean section.

My name is Georgina, I live in London and was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 12 years old. I’ve worked in the film industry as a script supervisor for the past 6 years and love every minute of it.

Christina Marshall uses her graphic design pieces to allow her to be more positive about epilepsy.

Muir Maxwell has had severe epilepsy since he was a baby and, at 23, is unaware of how his experiences have changed the lives of many children like him. But here, his mum, Ann, explains how a Trust, inspired by Muir, has funded vital epilepsy services and still, today, makes possible some of our groundbreaking genomic research at the Epilepsy Society.

Sarah has left temporal lobe epilepsy. She has decided to opt for surgery. 'All I want is my independence,' she says. 'I want to cook by myself, bath by myself and look after my two daughters without having to ask for help.'

Emma would like to increase the awareness of epilepsy.

STEPS resident Stephen designs a T-Shirt for BBC Children In Need.

When one child in a family has epilepsy it can have an impact on siblings too. Comedy king Russell Howard tells Nicola Swanborough how his brother’s seizures have helped shape his wicked sense of humour, while over the page, two sisters tell their moving story.

Imy Gosling and Julia Gargan have been best friends since they were at primary school together. “I joined the school after everyone else and from day one, Imy looked after me – we really bonded,” recalls Julia. “We lived very close by and really grew up together.” But being close also meant that Julia witnessed the challenges that Imy faced when she developed epilepsy as a teenager.

Owen Williams was 39 when he died in July 2014. His mother, Ro Williams, describes the impact of her son's death from SUDEP.

Stuart Watson, 39 from Howden in East Yorkshire, was so inspired by the support he received from our helpline that he decided to do a trek of the Great Glen Way in the Scottish Highlands and raise over £2500 for us.

Duncan Weston is 62. He has lived with epilepsy for 50 years. He doesn't trust himself to take cash out of a high street bank machine as he knows he is likely to have a seizure mid-transaction and walk away leaving his card and his money in the machine.

Anna has undergone 27 years of different medications and brain surgery to try to control her epilepsy. She has often felt that the trial and error of different medication changes has led her down dead ends . But now she feels that a diagnosis through sequencing her DNA is offering her, and her future children, real hope of better, more focussed treatments.

Yoga teacher Emma Turnbull explains how she is raising vital funds for the Epilepsy Society, after their support brought hope of a seizure-free life for her daughter, Beth.

Jamie Thomson, 39, a political risk analyst and father to a 16-month-old baby, explains why he is planning to donate his brain to the Epilepsy Society Brain and Tissue Bank at the end of his life.

Niall Moore, aged 36, will celebrate graduating today (Friday 31 July) with a Doctorate in Childhood Studies (DChild) from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast.

At just nine years of age, Caiden Tanfield is one of Epilepsy Society's youngest fundraisers.

Brother of comedian Russell Howard, Daniel, developed epilepsy as a result of a severe head injury when he was 10 years old.

Debbie Jackson is currently feeling positive about her epilepsy. She is a personal assistant at a media company in Canary Wharf and feels supported by her boss and colleagues. People have been very good in understanding her condition when she has had a few seizures at work, but this has not always been the case.

Gareth rediscovered his passion for music because of his epilepsy.

When Leann Robb had her first seizure at the age of 24, her family's lives were turned upside down. 'It literally hit us like a bolt out of the blue,' says mum, Joanne Robb. 'We had not had any experience of epilepsy, we knew nothing about it. My husband Kenny and I were in a dark tunnel with no light at the end.'

Award-winning comedian with epilepsy has debut show launched on television.

Nineteen-year-old Samantha Ahearn died of SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) just six months after her first seizure.

Internationally renowned writer Peter talks about his early life as a gravedigger with epilepsy.

Michael Green has spent 10 years working as a nurse in the Bedouin community living in the Jordanian desert in spite of his own epilepsy.

Laura Grainger, 34, cannot remember her own wedding day, most holidays and birthdays, or the time she spent at university. The impact of her epilepsy means that memory loss is a huge factor in her life.

Taking daily exercise while on lockdown can pose extra challenges for anyone with uncontrolled seizures, as Lorraine found out.

Like many people, Shirley and Neil Adderley have been catching up with rescheduled gigs booked since before the pandemic. But every concert brings back heart-breaking memories of their daughter Fay who should have been attending with them. Here the couple explain how each concert is an emotional rollercoaster.

Hamsia is 33 and was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teen. She is from a Somali background with no family history of epilepsy. Hamsia was in denial after her diagnosis and felt too distressed to talk about how she felt with her family. But today she has come to terms with her condition. She has spoken out on national radio about living with epilepsy.

Leeann has broken or damaged her teeth so many times during a seizure, that she is afraid to smile, say ‘hello’, or leave the house. Now, after years of repetitive injuries, she is asking why people with epilepsy are not entitled to financial support to get their teeth repaired.

Matthew Robertson is a seven-time National Champion and ex-World Record Holder paracyclist and is part of the Great Britain Paracycling Squad. As he prepares for the eventual Tokyo Paralympics, he wants to raise awareness of the impact having epilepsy can have on being a professional athlete.

Chloe Hambling experienced seizures in her recent pregnancy and felt anxious and concerned about her baby’s health. She is now eager to raise awareness of epilepsy and to ensure more research is undertaken to develop safer drugs for other pregnant women with the condition.

Kay was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2011 and has tonic clonic seizures. She had a seizure in the pool at her Aqua Fit class when her lifeguard, Finn, saved her life. This is her story.

Holly Wagner explains how her epilepsy has been something of a rollercoaster ride but how she refuses to be defined by her condition.

Andrew Redhead was born in 1943 but in spite of having epilepsy as a child, he wasn't properly diagnosed until the age of 17.

Amelia Roberts was beautiful, vivacious and just 21 when she tragically died from a fatal seizure just before Christmas in 2018.

Jade Davies worries about whether her son's health problems may have been caused by her epilepsy medication, even though the drugs she was taking during pregnancy are considered to have a safer profile.

Yasmin Golding is 26 and relies on a combination of three epilepsy medications to help control her seizures. But she worries about the health risk that the drugs could pose to any baby during pregnancy, should she decide to start a family.

Laura Moore, 22, has been taking sodium valproate since the age of 15. The medication has enabled her to get on with her life but she knows that if she wants to start a family it will pose a serious risk to any baby during pregnancy. Here she discusses the challenges she faces and questions why she wasn’t given more treatment options when she was first diagnosed.  

Chantel Reeves was taking the epilepsy medication, carbamazepine when she discovered she was pregnant. Here she relives her anxieties about how it might harm her baby and why she is backing our Safe Mum, Safe Baby campaign.

Actor with epilepsy, Jack Cray, talks about his journey with epilepsy and why he devised his one man show, Jack Cray: The Fittest Guy On The Street.

My name is Hayley and I'm a 36 year old secondary school teacher from Essex. I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myclonic Epilepsy about 20 years ago. I've been able to live a pretty normal life since my diagnosis which has included having two children, completing a degree and teaching qualifications.

Mel talks about her experience from being first diagnosed with epilepsy, to becoming pregnant and seeking treatment and support from Epilepsy Society at our Sir William Gowers medical centre.

If you travel on the London Underground or across the capital by bus, you may recognise Tom's face. He has been part of Transport for London's Priority Seating Campaign which aims to raise awareness of hidden disabilities on public transport. Tom has been the face of epilepsy. Here he talks about his epilepsy and the difficulties of taking a priority seat when you are a healthy looking young man.