Pippa Simpson:
"Epilepsy doesn’t get enough awareness on the day to day, people associate it with flashing lights and nothing else. A seizure can be caused by exhaustion, binge drinking, smoking, drugs and stress.
After being diagnosed with the neurological disorder last November, I have overcome so many emotions and challenges that have come with it.
For those of you who know me, I am partial to a G+T/ late night out haha, and I’ve found it really hard to get my head around the fact that I can’t carry on the way I used to anymore. Getting upset easily when I see everyone else out night after night at uni without a care in the world, but for my own safety I have to remember what’s important.
.Over the weekend I had 5 seizures in my sleep resulting in the paramedics cutting through my clothes to get oxygen into me + diazepam to calm me down as my heartrate was at 163bmp with a temperature of 39.5. The crazy but lucky thing is I don’t remember a single thing as I go unconscious, however this means I could seriously injure myself if I had a seizure somewhere more dangerous. This was all stemmed from 2 late nights out, I had just gone to bed feeling a bit anxious for some reason and the next thing I know I’m in hospital being told all this with a few cuts + bruises as I fell out of bed and whacked my face on a cupboard - photo evidence).
The extreme physical side of seizures has started to affect my work, social life and most importantly raised my anxiety about pretty much everything, from relationships to just going to sleep. So writing this post is a big step for me, but it’s important people know about it. In the UK alone 600,000 or 1 in every 103 people have epilepsy and everyday 87 people are diagnosed. It is estimated that 70% of people could be seizure free with the right treatment. I am hoping I one day fall into that 70% but only time will tell with the correct level of medication. I have no idea if I’ll have another one in the near/far future but I’m going to try not think about it too much as this whole experience has taught me to appreciate; everything I can do, all the people I have in my life and all the good things that are to come.
I’ve never done a post about anything so personal and I hope people don’t look at me differently. I’m still taking time to accept that it’s a new lifestyle and am trying to not be embarrassed by it. But the support I’ve had from friends and family these past few months has been amazing and I wouldn’t have managed so well without you all, I’m very grateful for everything.
If anyone ever needs a chat about anything or even if you feel sad one night and want someone to cheer you up then drop me a message 📷💜📷💜📷💜📷💜"
