Getting my diagnosis

Epilepsy is a condition that often gets mistaken for something else. This is what happened to me when I had a brain injury when I was only 7 months old, after I fell from my bed. The fall led to partial paralysis and coma. Thankfully, I recovered from it quickly.

However, I starting losing consciousness for brief seconds after the incident. My mother consulted different doctors and they couldn’t tell what the problem was. This went on for several years.

When I was about 12 years old, I was finally referred to a neurologist who asked to do an EEG, a type of test that tracks the electrical activity of the brain. This test along with a MRI scan  confirmed I had epilepsy right away. Further medical procedures also found that I had generalised and focal seizures. I went on to different anti-epileptic drugs for 4 years, until I was referred for neurosurgery.

In 2010, I underwent epilepsy brain surgery. The procedure was called amygdalohippocampectomy, which is a type of surgery where selective parts of amygdala and hippocampus are removed. I haven’t had any seizures since my surgery and but continued with my AEDs for another 2 years post-surgery.

Epilepsy gave a direction to my career and after treatment, I decided to pursue a career as a neuropsychologist. I currently go around the world to learn about epilepsy, its diagnosis and stigma that surrounds the condition.