So many inspirational people ~ changing others lives

At the award ceremony for the Epilepsy Action volunteer awards I met a lot of very inspirational people.  Amazing people who have done so much good following so much loss.  Families who have lost children and brothers and sisters to epilepsy.  Who have raised so much money to try to make sure other families don't have to suffer like they did and to remember what they have lost and what they would have wanted.

I don't know how they do it and when they stood up and accepted their awards, spoke from the heart about those they had lost, I don't think anyone wasn't moved.  I know I was choked up when I went to get my award.  They are an inspiration to us all and should motivate us to do as much as we can to make a difference in this world.

Promotion of public information and awareness award

I feel very proud to have won an award for the work I have done to help promote, well, in the words of this blog... becoming a mum with epilepsy! 

Epilepsy Action Volunteering Awards 2014: Promotion of public information and awareness category - Clair Cobbold

Clair has uncontrolled epilepsy. In June 2012 she gave birth to her first baby, daughter Riley. Thankfully for Epilepsy Action, Clair kept a diary throughout her pregnancy. This diary resulted in Clair becoming the first of our Pregnancy Diary writers of 2012, sharing her personal experiences of her pregnancy and parenthood journey. http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/node/62142

The Pregnancy Diaries was recently Highly Commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards and Clair played a big part in ensuring our resource was of such a high quality.

Clair, together with Riley, became the main ‘poster girl’ of our HealthE mum-to-be campaign. She also completed several media interviews, including local radio and newspapers and appeared in a double-page article in national magazine Prima Baby. Clair is ever willing to help, and happily agreed to be the face of The Guardian’s Mediaplanet supplement in National Epilepsy Week, being interviewed for the supplement and featuring on the front cover.

Clair is an amazing advocate of Epilepsy Action and regularly promotes our work and website on her own blog. She is very open about her own experiences and difficulties. The women we are trying to reach with our women’s campaigns have really warmed to her.

Clair hosted a workshop for parents with epilepsy at the London Weekend for all in November 2013, and spoke in the main hall for the event. She did a great job, not only raising awareness to help other mums and mums-to-be with epilepsy, but inspiring the audience.

Clair is a fantastic ambassador for the HealthE mum-to-be campaign. We simply couldn’t have run such a successful campaign without her support.

The Pregnancy Diaries was recently Highly Commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards and Clair played a big part in ensuring our resource was of such a high quality. 

Clair, together with Riley, became the main ‘poster girl’ of our HealthE mum-to-be campaign. She also completed several media interviews, including local radio and newspapers and appeared in a double-page article in national magazine Prima Baby. Clair is ever willing to help, and happily agreed to be the face of The Guardian’s Mediaplanet supplement in National Epilepsy Week, being interviewed for the supplement and featuring on the front cover.

Clair is an amazing advocate of Epilepsy Action and regularly promotes our work and website on her own blog. She is very open about her own experiences and difficulties. The women we are trying to reach with our women’s campaigns have really warmed to her.

Clair hosted a workshop for parents with epilepsy at the London Weekend for all in November 2013, and spoke in the main hall for the event. She did a great job, not only raising awareness to help other mums and mums-to-be with epilepsy, but inspiring the audience. 

Clair is a fantastic ambassador for the HealthE mum-to-be campaign. We simply couldn’t have run such a successful campaign without her support.

The Pregnancy Diaries was recently Highly Commended at the BMA Patient Information Awards and Clair played a big part in ensuring our resource was of such a high quality. 

Clair, together with Riley, became the main ‘poster girl’ of our HealthE mum-to-be campaign. She also completed several media interviews, including local radio and newspapers and appeared in a double-page article in national magazine Prima Baby. Clair is ever willing to help, and happily agreed to be the face of The Guardian’s Mediaplanet supplement in National Epilepsy Week, being interviewed for the supplement and featuring on the front cover.

Clair is an amazing advocate of Epilepsy Action and regularly promotes our work and website on her own blog. She is very open about her own experiences and difficulties. The women we are trying to reach with our women’s campaigns have really warmed to her.

Clair hosted a workshop for parents with epilepsy at the London Weekend for all in November 2013, and spoke in the main hall for the event. She did a great job, not only raising awareness to help other mums and mums-to-be with epilepsy, but inspiring the audience. 

Clair is a fantastic ambassador for the HealthE mum-to-be campaign. We simply couldn’t have run such a successful campaign without her support.

South London Epilepsy Action Coffee and Chat group

Well we've got it started.  3 of us met up a couple of weeks ago to discuss how we can help people with epilepsy in the South London area.  There aren't really many support groups in the area so we decided we should try to get something started.  We've decided to keep it low key, we'll just see how it grows with a bit of Facebook and Twitter promotion and just take it from there.

If you are interested have join our Facebook group, we'll keep you up-to-date with any meet ups we organise and you can start chatting to other people in the area.  Our first meet up is going to be 1st March at 3pm in the Clapham Common area.

https://www.facebook.com/events/539159542848981

Be careful what you wish for!

A while back I think I talked about how I wish I had an warning before a seizure, that it would allow me to make sure I was safe and more importantly make Riley feel safe.

I have realised this is one of those situations where you should be careful what you wish for...

The last seizure I had, I remember that I felt 'funny'.  But because of the seizure affecting my memory I can't remember what that feeling was...

So now I am in the situation where I may sometimes I feel 'funny' before, but it may not have been linked to the seizure.  But because I can't remember what that feeling was, every time I feel a bit funny I think, 'am I going to have a seizure?' But because I don't want to stop what I am doing because it most probably isn't the feeling and so nothing will happen... I end up just silently worrying!

It is a strange situation to be in, but strangely I have been chatting to someone else whose epilepsy is very similar to mine and she feels the same... I guess knowing you're not alone helps :)

The impact of losing your licence

I was speaking to someone newly diagnosed with epilepsy and they were telling me about how devastating having their driving licence taken away was.

I think having lost my driving licence 3 times (really I should never have got it back as I was still having focal seizures but my doctors told me they weren't seizures at the time... that's a whole other story!) I came to accept not being able to drive a long time ago.  It has just become a fact of life now... I can't drive but I get around with buses and trains and kind people's good will.

But it got me thinking back to a time where being able to drive again meant everything to me.  I still remember waking up in my bed at uni after having a seizure and the first thing I said was 'I won't be able to drive for a year' and then broke down in tears.

So I want to ask people... what would you do if you were told today you couldn't drive for at least a year?

The 75 people diagnosed with epilepsy every day have to face that fact.

I guess what I'm trying to say is never take your driving licence for granted, it could be taken away at any moment for reasons you cannot control.  So treasure it, don't risk losing it due to your own actions, think about all those people with health conditions without a licence...

Buggi Lights

It was just the other day when I was crossing the road after getting the bus home, it was pitch black and there was me with Riley in her black buggy waiting to cross the road.  Suddenly I felt very vulnerable, I realised no-one could see us. Even if I didn't have epilepsy that would have made me think twice, but then I thought what if I had a seizure right now... no-one would see the buggy...

Then a couple of days later I saw a couple of these buggi lights on the table at work.  They seemed perfect.  I had thought about getting some bike lights for the buggy but they are such a hassle to attach.  These you just stretch the strap round part of the buggy and they are on, if you have 2 buggies you can swap them over in seconds, they can fit any sized buggy.

The lights are really bright and they have 3 settings.  They also look fantastic, really child friendly and so many colours to match any buggy.

Basically I love them, I think anyone who has a buggy should have lights on them whether or not they have epilepsy but it gives me added peace of mind that if I were to have a seizure people would see the buggy.

And if that wasn't enough they give 25p from each sale to The Children's Trust who provide rehabilitation, education and care to children across the UK who have suffered a brain injury.

You can get your set at:

www.buggilights.com

Neuro Nula - my story

I've been writing my story for a website called Neuro Nula and it's made me reflect on my experience of epilepsy so I thought I'd share it to reflect on why I started this blog:

I’m Clair, I'm 29 and this is my story…

I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 19 after having a couple of tonic-clonic seizures.  Looking back now I think I’ve had focal seizures most of my life.  I get a funny wave feeling of fear that washes over me and then my vision alters, it lasts a couple of seconds and my consciousness doesn’t really alter.  But these were only diagnosed as seizures a couple of years ago.

My epilepsy has never been severe, for that I feel blessed.  In the beginning before I started medication I had one tonic-clonic a month but soon after starting Lamotrigine I was free of major seizures for over a year.  But it’s never completely gone away, I’ll go a year, sometimes two without a tonic-clonic seizure and then for no apparent reason I’ll have another one.  I have the odd focal seizure every now and again.  I don’t get a warning before my tonic-clonic seizures and so have hurt myself a few times, I guess it means it’s always in the back of my mind – what if I have a seizure right now...

I think it helps that I have such wonderful family and friends; I can never thank my Mum and husband Rich enough for all they do to support me, from picking up the pieces after a seizure to the everyday things like giving me lifts places.  I don’t know what I’d do without them.

I think I’ve accepted my epilepsy, I know it’s something I’ll probably have to live with for the rest of my life.  I’ve also never wanted epilepsy to stop me from living my life and doing all the things I want to do and I think I’ve succeeded with that.  I went to university, got married, ride my horse and ski.  I am pretty independent, I know the local trains and buses like the back of my hand and it may take me a while but I can get anywhere on public transport!

I’ve tried to see the positive in my epilepsy, it’s a way I can help other people.  I started volunteering for Epilepsy Action, giving epilepsy awareness presentations, not long after I was diagnosed and I was interviewed for the Youth Health Talk website.  I’ve always believed talking about my epilepsy will help the big picture, reduce the stigma.  When you start talking about it people are interested and want to ask questions, I find being open about my epilepsy is one of the best ways of spreading awareness.

What I really want to share with you is my experience of becoming a mum.  It is one of the most amazing things that I have done in my life.  I know some women who have decided against starting a family because of their epilepsy and I wanted to do something to help women feel more confident and supported in having a baby.  It just happened that not long after my pregnancy, Epilepsy Action started their Healthe Mums-to-be campaign which I got involved in.

I kept a blog during my pregnancy and that has grown into a Mum’s blog which I hope other women with epilepsy find useful.  If you want to read more about my story you can find my blog at www.becomingamumwithepilepsy.blogspot.co.uk.

I found out I was pregnant about a week after having a tonic-clonic seizure.  I was over the moon but terrified at the same time.  What could my seizure have done to the baby, has the baby been affected by my epilepsy medication… being pregnant and having epilepsy is pretty daunting.  At my 12 month scan I remember being so scared, but when I saw our baby and being told everything looked fine and was completely ‘average’ I was so relieved and excited, it made it all seem so real.

My pregnancy after that went quite smoothly, I was very lucky, I was already being seen by an epilepsy specialist in London who was fantastic.  I had 2 epilepsy nurses I could call anytime and my local hospital where I was having the baby was really supported.  I had a lot of extra appointments and checks, I felt really looked after.  Probably the best thing was that my friend (we’d been friends since nursery school) happened to be a student midwife at the hospital; she asked if she could use me as a case study.  It couldn’t have worked out better; she came to all my appointments and made sure all my notes were in place.  But I did feel very alone, like I was the only one going through it, I didn’t know anyone else with epilepsy who’d had a baby, that’s why I started my blog to make sure other women knew they weren’t alone.

There are lots of things to consider when starting a family if you have epilepsy, but they are no reason not to have a baby, it just needs a bit more thought and planning.  It is always best to try to plan your pregnancy, talk to your doctor about your medication, especially if you are taking sodium valproate which has been shown to have a much higher risk of birth defects as well as childhood developmental problems.  It’s important to have a plan for labour and you can discuss this with your specialist and to know that most women can breastfeed while taking epilepsy medication (although often they are told they can’t).  Most women who have epilepsy have normal pregnancies and labours and have beautiful healthy babies.

You can find lots more information in the Epilepsy Action HealthE mum-to-be campaign: https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/pressreleases/national/new-campaign-provides-support-pregnant-women-epilepsy or on my blog.

From an epilepsy point of view my labour went to plan, it did have other complications, but Riley Elizabeth was born at 6pm on Jubilee Sunday weighing 8lb8oz and perfectly healthy.

Becoming a mum is both a wonderful moment but also takes a lot of adjustment for anyone let alone if you have epilepsy.  I always say to women that if they don’t feel that unbreakable bond as soon as they see their baby it is completely normal, I found it took time to build the bond, but I know that when Riley smiled for the first time I would do absolutely anything for her.

Looking after a baby when you have epilepsy is also pretty daunting.  But the most important thing to remember is you are a mum with epilepsy not the other way round.  I always carried Riley up the stairs in her car seat, I had a dead break put on my buggy, and I didn’t bath her on my own – practical things to keep her safe.  But I didn’t let it stop me being a mum.  One of the other challenges is not being able to drive, getting the bus with a newborn baby is pretty scary, my family and friends helped by giving me lifts to start with but I soon got the hang of getting buses and trains, and I lost all my baby weight with the exercise.  I think one of the most important things was getting out and about and spending time with other people, not getting isolated.  I have made some wonderful friends through being a mum, no-one judges me because I my epilepsy.

As Riley is growing up and exploring the world it is amazing to watch her and I love her so much. There are going to be challenges to face in the future, some regarding my epilepsy and some not.  But right now I am enjoying being a mummy.  I don’t know what the future will hold for us, but all I know is I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband and beautiful, healthy little girl.

www.neuronula.co.uk

Neuro Nula aims to bring people living, or caring for someone, with a neurological condition together to share their experiences, advice and make new friends in a place free from judgement and stigmatisation.

Neuro Nula will provide a safe, moderated forum, links to neurological organisations and access to the stories of people affected by a range of neurological conditions. If you would like to share your story, contact NeuroNula@live.com