About ten years ago I started having what I thought of as "the faints". At church, I couldn't stand through long prayers for fear of ending up being carried out like a sack of cement.

My mother became very protective, which drove me nuts. I couldn't go out with friends or spend weekends at a friend's house. Mornings were bad. Instead of getting up and having breakfast at the table, a table or tray was brought to me.

I just could not take it any longer. Then one Sunday evening, after another episode at church, my parents rushed me to a 24-hour doctor who referred me to hospital. I was immediately put on anti-convulsant treatment and told that I have epilepsy.

What now? I finally knew what was wrong with me, but to accept it was a different story. Then, like an angel from heaven, the South African National Epilepsy League [now known as Epilepsy South Africa] shed some light on the matter. I discovered that even though you have a seizure every day, you are just as normal as the next person. And I was introduced to Epicare, a social support group that meets once a month. There, I got more informed and could then educate my family about assisting me when I have seizures.

With the help of Tim de Villiers, who was involved in setting up Epicare in Cape Town, I started an Epicare group nearer to my home in Mitchell's Plain. Life now has new meaning for me. I feel confident about myself, about conquering the world. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my goal of educating people about epilepsy and breaking down the stigma and myths about it.

Filicity September, www.epilepsywc.org.za

National Epilepsy Week starts on 17 June 2007.