My Epileptic Life

This week has been national college week. A week to raise awareness of the importance of colleges and the essential services they provide. Obviously, I am a huge fan of colleges, I teach at one after all. Today I don’t want to talk about the facts and figures (I’m rubbish at maths ) nor do I want to talk about the extensive range of qualifications colleges offer or the fact that colleges help train workers that this country desperately needs. Instead, I want to focus on a different aspect of college life, the pastoral side, not from a teachers perspective but, instead, as a student.   Not only do I work at  East Riding College, (we are No. 1 in Yorkshire by the way) but I also studied there. I studied there when I first left school and went back a fair few years later to carry out my higher education studies. When I went back to study my battle with epilepsy had already started and my biggest concern was that I wouldn’t be able to learn because of my seizures, memory d...

I have been on struggle street again this week. Balancing teaching, blogging, book writing and keeping the family alive is a challenge most days, on epilepsy days it feels like an impossible challenge and, quite frankly, I am just thankful we all made it to the weekend with no injuries or fatalities despite the constant cries of “I'm starving”. I am also thankful for  Asda  delivery!    I have no doubts that I will walk down struggle street again sometime soon, and by soon, I mean in the next week. Nobody wants to be on struggle street. It’s a crap place to be and I have zero intentions of packing up my bags and becoming a permanent resident, however, it is a road I travel down frequently but by doing so I have  realised  something important. Struggle street is also a diverse street. Thousands of people, with numerous hidden disabilities, walk down struggle street every day. When you are struggling, it is so easy to allow yourself to feel alone. It is...