Maria: Hi David, it is always a pleasure spending the time chatting with you. You have had epilepsy for 45 years and so your journey has been a long one. You have medication-resistant epilepsy, which hasn’t always been easy but you have remained resilient and someone who is able tell an interesting story from which we can all learn. Where shall we begin? David: I have

Maria: Hi Karl, I have been chatting with people about their epilepsy stories. I understand that you would like to talk about employment and epilepsy. Have you found that having epilepsy has been a barrier to finding employment? Karl: There is a funny sort of barrier in employment and I think that it has a lot to do with fear. Currently, I work in an

Maria: Hello Lorna. I have known you for some time now and, in that time, I have come to learn about your brave and stoic attitude towards facing your many daily challenges. You have multiple disabilities as well as having epilepsy. Lorna: If it wasn’t for my children and my dogs, I don’t know how I would have kept going. I had a serious car

Maria: Hi Steve, thank you for wanting to share your story. You have had a bit of a rough and rocky road trying to live with epilepsy whilst not being fully supported in the community. I understand that the lack of support has been hard for you. How does your story begin? Steve: Up until 2005 I was leading a busy life. I had my

Maria: Hello Charlie, thank you for taking part in my phone chat project. Every person with epilepsy has a special story. How shall we start yours? Charlie: I guess that having epilepsy isn’t just about me. It impacts on my entire family because of the limitations epilepsy puts on my life. I am not allowed to drive a car and so I can’t just pop

Maria: Hi Ruth. Thank you for taking part in this ‘phone chat project’. I know that you will be speaking about your son’s epilepsy journey to date. It has been quite a journey and I know that there have been quite a few knock-backs from when I first met Oscar in 2016. Ruth: Oscar has always tried to be positive about this epilepsy, but he

Maria: Hi Lisa, thank you for having a ‘phone chat’ with me. There is nothing better than being able to tell a story over the phone because you never know where it is going to lead. That is the beauty of using this method of story-telling. Today we are going to talk about why your son, who lives with epilepsy, left New Zealand for Australia.

Maria: Hi Steph. I know that you have been itching to tell me your story. Steph: I am because I am trying to process what is happening to me with regards to my seizures and anxiety levels. Maria: In a previous conversation you mentioned that there was an ‘old you’ and a ‘new you’. I am interested in knowing more about that. Steph: In my

Maria: Hi Tania, thank you for sharing your epilepsy story with me today. Tania: That is okay. I don’t often speak about my epilepsy because I just accept the way things are now. My first seizure happened when I was 16 years old, straight after I had a haircut, in fact. My parents clicked that something was wrong with me and I felt upset that

Maria: Hello Sally. It is always lovely to hear from you. How are you? Sally: Well, you know, I have my bad days and my good days. Today I am feeling a bit frustrated with myself. I used to be an intelligent person once upon a time but I think that my memory isn’t quite what it used to be. What with all the seizures