{"id":254,"date":"2025-03-19T12:50:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T13:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=254"},"modified":"2025-03-19T21:33:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:33:28","slug":"my-teacher-locked-me-in-a-cupboard-while-i-had-a-seizure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/19\/my-teacher-locked-me-in-a-cupboard-while-i-had-a-seizure\/","title":{"rendered":"My teacher locked me in a cupboard while I had a seizure"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Hayley\t<\/div>
One of my life\u2019s goals is to fight for people with epilepsy to be accepted (Picture: Hayley Allen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn’t really have any friends throughout school<\/a>. Having epilepsy<\/a> meant people were scared of me. <\/p>\n

They treated me like I was a ticking time bomb and at any moment, I could go off. The bullying<\/a> was relentless. I missed a lot of school to deal with my condition so I wasn’t as switched on as some of the other kids in my year; I was called \u2018r****d\u2019 and all sorts, and told that I was \u2018dumb\u2019. <\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019ve rarely had a good reaction to my epilepsy. As a baby, one relative said it would be God’s will if I died from a seizure. And I will never, ever forget the look of terror on my grandad\u2019s face the first time he saw me seize.<\/p>\n

Today, my parents and grandparents are amazing and incredibly supportive but there is still so much ignorance about epilepsy. People fear what they don’t understand. Rather than saying, \u2018OK, this is scary\u2019, it’s easier for them to just switch off and do nothing. <\/p>\n

One of my life\u2019s goals is to fight for people with epilepsy to be accepted, not shunned with the stigma dumped on them. Epilepsy is just one small part of who you are. It doesn’t define you.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tFor Sarah\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
Sarah Whiteley was a Metro columnist and much-loved member of the team (Picture: Sarah Whiteley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Last year, on March 10, we lost our beloved colleague Sarah Whiteley. Sarah was a fantastic journalist; she was Metro<\/strong>\u2019s parenting columnist and a valued member of our first-person and opinion desk.<\/p>\n

Sarah died aged 39 from SUDEP – sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. It is thought that every year around 1,000 people die from causes related to epilepsy.<\/p>\n

With support from Sarah\u2019s family, Metro<\/strong> is fundraising for two very important charities: SUDEP Action<\/a> and Epilepsy Action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From March 10 to March 26, which marks Purple Day (epilepsy awareness day), we will be running a series of features and first-person pieces, raising awareness of epilepsy and SUDEP.<\/p>\n

Sarah was so incredible at helping other people share their experiences; she was a born storyteller and we hope to do her proud with this series, while raising money in her memory.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\"Hayley\t<\/div>
I’d like there to be more positive information about epilepsy out there (Picture: Hayley Allen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I had my first seizure when I was nine months old but wasn\u2019t diagnosed with epilepsy until I was 18 months. It was a long process with lots of tests and because I was so little, I had to be held down so that my neurologists could get clear scan images of my brain.<\/p>\n

I became more aware of my condition as I got older. My parents tried to protect me from the nasty side of things, but I would listen to them speak to the doctors while I played with my toys, hearing them say things like, \u2018If she makes it to five, she’ll be lucky\u2019.<\/p>\n

After that, I felt like I had to work hard to have any kind of life, and make sure I didn\u2019t die and make my parents upset.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tGlossary of terms\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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