Why I wear Purple

November is Epilepsy Awareness Month and as many of my followers know I have epilepsy. However not everyone knows my story on how I developed my condition.  Well my epilepsy was caused by accident that happened when I was 10 months old NOT

something I was born with.

The story I was told I can only imagine how scary it was for my parents and family. They found with a dry cleaning bag wrapped around my face not breathing,  I was told was blue in the face. My family told me we lived out in the country so calling 911 didn't do much good, they could only really instruct them on what to do on getting me to breath in hopes that an ambulance could get there. My family decided to preform CPR on me themselves as they drove to the nearest hospital.

Long story short I was revived at some point though my brain began to swell due to lack of oxygen and I was not expected to live. However here I am writing this blog and the only thing that came from that day due to the swollen brain or TBI is me having epilepsy.  So I am literally a survivor.

Epilepsy is not something that I am ashamed of nor something I hide. Though many people don't even know I have seizures because of how I live and it's not like I wear a shirt everywhere I go that says I have epilepsy.

 Someone once said "You don't look like you have epilepsy" and my response was "How does someone with epilepsy look like?" They gave me an answer of a sickly weak person that can't take care of themselves. It occurred to me then just how little people know about epilepsy. Apparently to some we who have epilepsy have a certain look and it's debilitate us from living a normal life.   I was even told once I was to "fit" and "healthy" looking to have epilepsy. So there is a bit of a stigma on what epilepsy looks like. 

Well epilepsy can't be seen. You can't look at a person and say "That person as epilepsy" without knowing already they do. Epilepsy doesn't discriminate it can effect someone of any race, male or female, young or old, any size at anytime. And if you didn't grow up with it like I did which in itself  has it own challenges, and it comes into your life out no where and it can turn your life upside down. Not only that there is not just one type of epilepsy or seizures there are 40 different types of seizure disorders with numerous amounts of triggers.  Seizures can look like anything from passing out all of the sudden to blank stare to the most common one and one I experience when not controlled where I lose conscious and start to convulse uncontrollably. Triggers range from environmental to hormonal to everyday stress and lack of sleep. 


Epilepsy is so common when I do open up and talk about my life with it I find people open  up to me. I hear story's about their loved ones having epilepsy  or how some actually had epilepsy as a child but grew out of it as they got older this is know as juvenile epilepsy. Of course I also get the question "What is epilepsy?"

However for me epilepsy doesn't have me I have epilepsy. I grown up with it and I have learned to live with it and overcome it.  I wear purple to support my epilepsy family and myself. I wear purple to bring awareness to others on what epilepsy is and how it effects those who have it and their families. I hope for a cure and one day I am sure we will find one.