Achieving Goals While Living with Epilepsy by Lowell Evans

Epilepsy has been around since the beginning of time. Just because of that fact, many people think they know and understand it. The truth is that epilepsy has been misdiagnosed so many times, people hesitate to inform others that they have it and then try to prove them wrong, I was one of those individuals.

Just because I had one (1) seizure, I was told I should change my plans. I was just starting out in life. I was 20 years old and it was the first time I was on my own. I had plans to graduate from college, work for a Fortune 500 company, and become a husband and a father. 

I had not lost anything after being diagnosed, nothing but some confidence from the people that I respected but now viewed me in an unusual way. All of this is because of one epileptic seizure. Come on?

I now have a new goal in life because of my epilepsy diagnosis. My goal was to educate myself and those around me about epilepsy. Some people in society made me feel like I would a failure, but what made them think of me in this manner? My goal was to prove them wrong. 

After doing my research I discovered that some of the most successful people in history had epilepsy. It was amazing what I discovered from doing my epilepsy research. People like Julius Cesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincent Van Gogh and Harriet Tubman. These great individuals went on to live successful lives in the 18th and 19th centuries. Then I learned about more modern-day men and women who were diagnosed with epilepsy, but they did not allow it to ruin their lives. These people are President Theodore Roosevelt, actor Danny Glover, and athletes such as Olympic Gold Medal Winner, Florence Griffith Joyner, and NFL football star, Justin Fields. This was amazing information and I realized that there had to be a lack of knowledge about epilepsy in society.

This is when I said to myself, “My diagnosis of epilepsy I is no different than these other people and they have become successful, so why can’t I? This research strengthened me because I was just another person like these people were. These famous people still became successful in life. They just decided not to allow epilepsy to stop them from living life to the fullest. 

After being diagnosed with epilepsy, the doctors told me there were a few things I could no longer do, like operating a vehicle for 6 months, but that did not mean I could not still get from Point A to Point B. I just found another form of transportation. They said, “Sir, with the epilepsy medication you have to take, you are not allowed to drink alcohol.” That was fine, I just had to fine another type of drink that satisfied me. 

If you are diagnosed with epilepsy, you should not cancel your goals and dreams in life. You just search for another way to achieve them.