Peter’s Story
My name is Peter C, I am 65 and at the age of 61 I woke up in hospital not knowing how I got there. I was very confused, ached all over as if I had run a marathon and I was very frightened. My wife told me that she had woken up with me having a seizure and thrashing all over the bed (I later discovered it was called a generalised tonic-colonic seizure).
I was told I could not drive, which meant my work suffered. After more seizure and absences, I was diagnosed as having epilepsy. I was put on a regime of drugs which initially did not work and the side effects were bad. My nurse changed my drugs and since then I have been stable and able to drive again. There is no obvious reason why I started having seizures.
Although I have been stable for over 2 years I have been left with Epileptic Amnesia (I don’t remember many things that have happened in my past). There are also short-term memory issues and I have had bouts of depression.
However, I have learnt to live with Epilepsy and my friends and family have been very supportive throughout.
The group meetings are a great source of support. Understanding the issues others living with Epilepsy have, made me realise that I was not alone and in fact extremely lucky that my seizures are under control. Giving each other support with understanding thoughtfulness and of course humour has helped me through some dark times.
At our group there is always light.
