Ian, 51, England

I developed late-onset epilepsy at 48 with immediate impacts on my life. My health took a downturn, my dual careers in IT and soccer coaching abruptly stopped and I gave up all exercise. Gym work-outs, marathon running, & occasional soccer matches all disappeared.

That was 3 years ago. After 2 years I started getting back to “normal” - the last 12 months being spent regaining fitness, completing MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology. My dissertation sought to find if, like me, those whose seizure fears curtailed exercise could be encouraged to return given assurances re: possible seizure-free times. And, like me, up to 70% of epileptics provided a clear “yes, if I better knew my potentially seizure-free times I would exercise”.

I am now back in the groove and my ambition is to help others improve their quality of life using fact-based positive encouragement even though we all still have epilepsy.