For Purple Day® 2025, Anne Coyne has written about her experiences with epilepsy following her daughter Roisin’s diagnosis two years ago…
The month of March two years ago, in 2023 is when epilepsy came into Roisin’s life like a wrecking ball. It was 5.30 in the morning and completely out of the blue.
The ambulance was called and after the first seizure, she went on to have another 3 seizures during this time. We spent 4 days in the Hospital where she had a series of tests.
The MRI was clear and so was the CT scan - things were looking hopeful until she had the EEG. This test which took a 30-minute snapshot of her brain unfortunately showed seizure-like activity, which covered her whole brain and as a result, Roisin was diagnosed with Generalised Tonic Clonic Epilepsy.
Roisin does not remember any of the seizures she has ever had (it’s probably her body’s way of protecting itself). Still, it has had a ripple effect on the family, particularly her siblings. We all wish we could sweep this epilepsy business under the carpet and pretend it never happened, but it's here - Roisin has it for life and we will make sure we do everything we can to keep Roisin safe and supported.
Roisin has never complained and just gets on with things, she is the most incredible person I know and shows us every day to follow your dreams. Two years on and we are still learning things about epilepsy every day. One thing we can say to any newly diagnosed person or anyone going through a rough time, this storm will pass.
Roisin is going through the storm again at the moment, but this will pass and be a distant memory. Epilepsy has never stopped Roisin from getting on with her life. After her diagnosis, Roisin turned 18 (and boy did we celebrate!) Shortly after that she sat her Leaving Cert and has gone on to publish her first two novels.
March 26th is Purple Day® - so if you can please show our wonderful Roisin and the 45,000 people living with epilepsy across Ireland some love by wearing purple and donating to Epilepsy Ireland, we would appreciate it! We have depended on them for support throughout on our journey so far and know that they will continue to be there for us in the future.
Thank you, Anne, for sharing and every best wish to the inspirational Roisin as she navigates this difficult period on her journey. If you would like to follow Anne’s advice and make a vital donation to help continue our journey towards a society where no person’s life is limited by epilepsy, make a donation via the button below.
Further Information
- Interested in learning more about Roisin's novels? Visit her Linktree page for more details!