Bree Rowland

I’m taking part in Walk for Epilepsy because...

As many of you know, I have epilepsy along with 250,000 other Australians, or approximately 1% of our population. 

Over 60% of diagnosed cases, like mine, are due to unknown causes. 

I have had countless neurologist appointments, every test imaginable completed multiple times (blood tests, CT scans, EEG’s, MRI’s, portable/at home tests where I was under observation 24 hours a day). Even after all of these tests, I will likely need to be on medication for the rest of my life to help prevent seizures.

My seizures occur when I’m asleep. Unfortunately, these episodes are generally brought on by stress, a lack of sleep or when I haven’t taken my medication properly. While I’m very lucky to only have episodes while I’m asleep, this makes it much harder to track, seeing as I’m single and I’m often unaware of an episode unless it’s extreme.

If it’s a mild seizure, I wake up disoriented, tired and sore. Extreme seizures result in me biting my tongue, becoming aggressive/disoriented, losing control of my bladder and stopping breathing. I’m so grateful that I cannot remember this, but it breaks my heart that my loved ones have to experience this! 

The is no known cure for epilepsy. The medical community is working hard to better understand epilepsy, discovering new treatments and conducting research to find a cure.

As you know, I love celebrating my birthday. But this year, I’m asking that you donate towards this cause in lieu of giving me a birthday present. I want to raise money and make a difference for people living with epilepsy. 

Please help me by giving whatever you can using the 'Donate' button. The more people that know about the walk, the greater the impact, so please also spread the word by sharing our page with your friends and family. Thank you for your generosity, it means a lot!