4 Things My Seizure Disorder Has Taught Me to Be Grateful For

1. Time

It’s such a simple thing, yet for me it’s crucially important. When I have seizures, they range in duration from less than a minute to over an hour. That’s got to add up to a large amount of my life spent unconscious, so when your body takes your time away, you learn to appreciate the time you do have. I try to make the most of it; I love harder, I laugh harder, I work harder, I aim higher.

2. Community

Researching and learning about my disorder helped me to discover massive communities of people just like me. It has taught me to reach out to others — people who are struggling with their battle and people who are laughing in the face of theirs. Those people are not only going to help you emotionally, but the masses of information that’s shared around these communities are helping people – including me – to learn more about their own illnesses. There is something comforting about the knowledge that you have thousands of people from all around the world just waiting to fight your corner. You’re part of an exclusive club of heroes and warriors; be proud!

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3. Friendship

Being chronically ill can be excruciatingly lonely at times. You’re usually too unwell to attend social events, or too fatigued to get out of bed, or in too much pain to shower. But the truth is this: those who love you will make time and those who don’t will drift away. It’s brutal, but there are people who just aren’t emotionally equipped to handle what we handle every single day, and that’s OK. It’s OK because what you are left with is gold dust. Friends who don’t care if meeting up means laying in bed rather than a wild night out… if it means grabbing a milkshake instead of a cocktail… if it means a girls’ night in watching old movies rather than a cinema date… if it means ordering pizza in your PJs instead of going out to dinner. Because they love you, they support you, and they want you to get better, but most of all they want to spend time with you. Poorly or not!

4. My husband

I have always appreciated my husband; I know I’m blessed to have him and I tell him every day. I didn’t think I could appreciate him more than I already did until I reached the lowest point of my life. I was in a position where I had given up, but the love I have for my husband and the love he has for me quite literally saved my life. Love – real love – is truly unconditional. It’s wiping away tears when your partner is screaming in pain. It’s holding your partners hand when they’re having a seizure. It’s stroking their hair while you’re waiting for them to come round. It’s attending all of their hospital and doctors appointments like your life depends on it. It’s seeing them when they’re a mess – greasy hair, bad skin because the pain has meant they cant grab a shower that day – and telling them they always look beautiful. It’s making them laugh while they’re having needles and cannulas attached and holding them when they get scared. It’s dropping everything you’re doing regardless of what it is (without every being asked) because they’ve been rushed to hospital again. It’s in sickness and in health. It’s my Max <3

“Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

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Thinkstock photo by alexandrshevchenko