In 60 years, we’ve never turned anyone away.
And we’re not prepared to do so.
Not now. Not ever.
You can help. Show your support.
Donate now.
Close your eyes. Block your ears. How do you feel?
For Sam, she’s having a seizure.
When Sam was in primary school, she would see lights in her eyes.
She never told her parents or her friends. She was afraid of what they would think.
“I never spoke a single word to anybody, not even mum. I always kept that to myself because if I ever told anyone, they would think I was weird. Then, puberty hit…”
At 14 years of age, Sam had her very first seizure.
“I forgot the name of the seizures. I always forget. The memory is shocking.”
That’s what happens when you have severe epilepsy. You forget times, places, things that happened...
Sam was not only diagnosed with complex partial epilepsy. She was also diagnosed with focal impaired epilepsy. A double whammy.
“If you close your eyes and block your ears, that's me having a seizure. I can't hear anything. I can't see anything. I’ve got no idea what I'm doing. People tell me I make weird noises. I play with my hands, my clothes. I get really strange.”
Sam’s epilepsy has not only affected her life. It’s affected every person around her, like her mum, Maureen.
“What hurts me the most is the misunderstanding and ignorance around epilepsy - how people can just back away because it's too confronting. This is what needs to be dealt with – ignorance and fear.
The Epilepsy Foundation does a marvellous job helping families, friends and the broader community understand, accept and manage epilepsy.”
You can help us continue to provide practical support for people living with epilepsy. And develop programs to eradicate stigma and discrimination that stops people like Sam from being able to talk openly about their condition and living well with epilepsy.
Your support is crucial. Please donate before 30 June.
You can help provide the support, information and tools a person, like Sam, needs to live well with epilepsy through every stage of their lives.
When you choose to donate, you'll be giving a family, like Maureen and Sam's
the complete and comprehensive care they'll need from the Epilepsy Foundation.
We talk with parents about how best to support their child during a seizure, help them navigate the school system and give them tools, like a detailed Epilepsy Management Plan or Emergency Medication Plan so they can keep their child safe during a seizure.
While we provide most support by phone, we also attend appointments with a worried parent or carer. We listen, we share our understanding and develop a plan of action. We brainstorm on strategies to reduce risks or stresses. And we learn as much as we can about the person, including their life goals, hopes, support network, so they have the most appropriate support.
We work with foster parents or kinship carers, with people who don't speak English along with their interpreters. We work with people who have multiple services involved in their care.
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1800 437 453 or (03) 8809 0655
donations@epilepsyfoundation.org.au
