Epilepsy Awareness Triathlon

In my early teens, I learned that I had epilepsy, and I was shattered. I had been a very active kid and loved basketball. During a crucial game where I was representing my town, I had my first seizure in a packed stadium that felt like it was filled with almost everyone I knew.

It was an extremely frightening experience — one that, for much of my life, continued to trigger a visceral fear inside me. In the years following that first seizure, I experienced three more: one while playing a computer game, one during a corporate triathlon and another at work. I took medication until my senior year of high school, but when I started working, I stopped (with my doctor’s approval). I didn’t actually know what it was doing to my body, but it felt like it slowed me down mentally.

In my early 20s, I grappled with the lasting mental impact of this disease. Many of my choices were ways to validate that I was just as capable as my peers — physically, mentally, and socially.

Two years ago, when I lost a good friend to cancer, I made the decision to confront the fear I carried inside me (the one rooted in my childhood health struggles — the feeling that I was not enough) and to show my daughters what it means to overcome true fear.

The sport of triathlon had long been a source of immense fear for me, because the last time I competed in one I had a seizure. So I signed up for a sprint triathlon, then an Olympic, then a half Ironman, and in nine weeks I will compete in a full Ironman.

Today, I view my experience with epilepsy as a teenager and young adult as a superpower — a reminder that limitations are a mindset. I also recognize that not everyone impacted by epilepsy is fortunate enough to share this perspective.

As I prepare to compete in the Cozumel Ironman on November 23, I am raising money for the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria so they can continue providing support to families impacted by epilepsy.

The ASENA Family Office is kicking things off with a $5,000 donation.