My epilepsy story

In the lead-up to International Epilepsy Day and our awards on 8 February, we interviewed our ambassador, Lakeisha "Lucky" Patterson OAM. Lucky generously shares with us her experience of living with epilepsy, her involvement with our organisation and her passion for raising epilepsy awareness in the wider community.

Brett, 25, has been living with epilepsy since he was born, after a difficult birth in which his Mum was whisked away for an emergency delivery. With support and understanding, Brett has built a busy and rewarding life, proving living well with epilepsy can be possible.

Award-winning Gold Coast portraiture artist, Jeska Valk, is passionate about sharing other people’s inspiring stories. Purple Day inspired her to share her own story. Jeska was diagnosed with generalised onset absence seizures as a young child.

You may recognise Simon McQuillan from Season 4 of reality TV show "Married at First Sight." But finding love is just one of the challenges that Simon has experienced since his diagnosis of epilepsy at the age of 18 years.

Samuel is just three years old, and like a lot of little boys loves Lego and puzzles. However, that gorgeous smile belies some really tough challenges that Samuel has to confront daily. Samuel lives with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and epilepsy.

Abigail was diagnosed with multi-focal epilepsy at 20 months old. After significant challenges related to her condition, including many life-threatening episodes, Abigail, now 3 years old, is doing much better.

The birth of a child is a joyous occasion, but for new mum Samantha, of Tingalpa, the start to her daughter Evie’s life in April 2019 was also the start of Samantha’s life with epilepsy. Just five hours after Evie’s birth, Samantha experienced her first seizure, with a second following four hours later. After just a few days, a diagnosis of epilepsy was delivered.

Madaline Guilk embodies the spirit of determination. The nineteen-year-old from Ipswich, who lives with a rare form of epilepsy called Jeavons Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a resilient person who is focused on giving back. Proud Mum Amy says: “Madaline hears the word “NO” all the time but she wants to succeed. She wants a big successful life.” She says: “I’m doing this.”