To help raise awareness in advance of International Epilepsy Day 2025, Michelle Wyse has shared her story of her son Luke’s diagnosis with epilepsy in 2024....
In January of 2024, I got a phone call from Luke’s school because was feeling unwell. For Luke to pluck up the courage to inform the teacher of this, meant he must have been feeling very unwell.
When I went to collect him, he complained of feeling weird. I got him home and put him on the sofa to relax and I took his temperature. It was a bit high so, I gave him some pain relief.
An hour later, Luke had his first seizure.
It was terrifying because we had no idea of what was going on.
But once we got to Drogheda Hospital, he was so well looked after.
They did a CT scan, which was clear, and we were delighted to hear that but still worried as to why he had the seizure.
After a few days in hospital, they sent us home with an appointment in Temple Street for six months later, and that included an EEG test.
Roll on mid-August 2024, Luke had his sleep deprived EEG test and because nothing had happened since January, we were confident that everything would be clear again.
Little did we know when we left Temple Street that day that two weeks later our lives would change forever.
Two weeks after the EEG, I got the phone call to say that Luke had epilepsy. I was so shocked and upset for him. I just kept thinking, what would life be like for him going forward? How would this affect him and all the things he wanted to do? It was a dark and worrying time.
But with the wonderful support of Luke’s doctor in Drogheda and the Neurology Department in Temple Street, we had a plan in place and that gave us hope. Luke started medication straight away, but it wasn’t plain sailing getting the dose right.
Once Luke was on his full dosage, we noticed his mood change, he was having mood swings, was agitated and very emotional. That was so unlike Luke, who is so sweet and easy-going.
We met with Luke’s fantastic epilepsy nurse in Temple Street, and she was a fountain of knowledge.
She explained everything to us and Luke’s medication was adjusted and we, as a family, left Temple Street that day feeling so much better.
Today Luke is a happy little boy.
He takes his medication daily and nothing has changed in his life.
He is still doing all his favourite activities, living and loving life.
This is with the help of his doctor in Drogheda hospital, the epilepsy nurse in Temple Street and the help and support from Epilepsy Ireland, especially their Community Resource Officers.
There’s so much support and guidance, so, something that was very scary in the beginning has now become something that we have become used to.
Luke is so well looked after from all the support networks we have engaged with in the past few months. Thankfully, he hasn’t had another seizure but we are so careful about keeping on top of his medication routine.
We wanted to share our story for anyone out there who may be at the beginning of facing a diagnosis to let them know there’s lots of help and support out there. Don’t be afraid to access it because it will make all the difference.”
Thank you, Michelle, for sharing Luke’s story and we wish you both the very best in the future! If you would like to tell your story in advance of International Epilepsy Day, find out more by visiting the International Epilepsy Day 2025 page on our website.