Sophie's story
"If it wasn't for medical research, I would have missed out on so much."- Sophie
The first signs of Sophie’s epilepsy appeared when she began having seizures aged 11 years old. As the weeks and months went by her seizures worsened – leaving Sophie constantly at risk of serious injury. But thanks to breakthrough research, funded by Action, 21-year-old Sophie is now seizure-free.
I was just 11 years old when I began to have seizures and was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy. Even with very high doses of medicine my seizures were only suppressed to three or four a day. A miracle compared to the 10 to 20 I could have without medication, but I still felt my life was out of my control. I fell in front of moving traffic, by the edge of train platforms and down flights of stairs.
It's why I felt so lucky five years later to take part in Dr Valentin’s breakthrough research project. With Action funding, he developed a new way to treat children like me, whose epilepsy originates in localised areas of the brain.
It was scary preparing for the treatment as it involved electrical stimulation of my brain, but the results were amazing! They were totally beyond my expectations. I became completely seizure free and, a year later, medication free!
It really does show how life-changing research can be. That’s why I hope you can help Action as they continue to unlock new treatments for other forms of epilepsy – transforming even more children’s lives like mine.
Had someone told me that this would be my life now, I don’t think I would have believed them. I’ve achieved things I feared I’d never be able to. I’ve travelled to 30 different countries (some solo and some with friends) and I’m now in my final year of university.
Even just the simple things, like walking upstairs without being anxious that someone wasn’t behind me to catch me, are amazing.
Support like yours really has changed my life. That's why I’m so passionate about medical research and why I hope you’ll join me in supporting Action’s latest epilepsy research.
A gift today could open up the world again to someone like me, so please give what you can and support research that can benefit other children with epilepsy.