Grace Green

Hello beautiful people!

I'm making a difference and running for a cause that's close to my heart. I’d appreciate any contribution, big or small.

A little bit of backstory...

After about 9 months of small 'blackouts' throughout the day, followed by one big seizure right before my 17th Birthday I was diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. As a result, my driving was restricted and I was instructed to take medication eveerrryyy day for the foreseeable future. The way epilepsy medication works is by dampening the "electrical storms" and slowwwing everything down up there. The medication slowed my brain right down - I ended up exhausted and (stupidly) decided to stop taking the medication. 

Fast forward a couple of years... I continued to have those little blackout seizures pretty frequently. Of course I didn't tell anyone though, I just brushed it off. And then of course, BAM another big seizure in 2018. That one woke me up a lot to the harsh reality of epilepsy - it's not just going to go away. So here I am today, still taking the medication every single day. If I go longer than 24 hours without taking it I begin to have absence seizures and it's not a pretty sight, so it looks like I'll be taking it for quite some time. 

I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky. 

The vast majority of people in my life would not know that I have epilepsy - I'm able to take my meds everyday and I can shift it to the back of my mind. Sometimes when filling out forms and declaring any medical concerns it genuinely slips my mind that I need to cross that big box that says 'epilepsy'.

Statistics show that 70% of people living with epilepsy will gain control of their seizures by taking anti-epileptic drugs. That's great! But what about the other 30%? Those individuals aren't so lucky.

When the idea of fundraising for epilepsy first came to mind I completely dismissed it. My first thought was "how can I be an advocate for epilepsy, it's not affecting my life in a way that it effects others?". But the truth is that's EXACTLY why I should, because there are so many out there that can't. I consider myself blessed to still be able to talk, write, eat what I want, drive a car, let alone have the capability to run 1000km!

Yepppp that's right, 1000km! For my PMQ people that's basically from Port Macquarie to Gold Coast AND BACK. 

Soooo why 1000km??? On the 18th August 2021 it will be 1000 days of me being seizure free. This is a hell of a lot longer than MANY individuals with Epilepsy can say. 

So between now and then I'll be doing 1000km of running - and documenting every step of it on this page of course! 

This is for the little girl whose friends are scared to play with her because she occasionally "passes out". This is for the teenage boy whose mates are getting their licence and he knows he'll never be able to join them. This is for the woman who knows that the likelihood of delivery a healthy baby is 94% but all she's thinking about is that other 6%. This is for the bloke who can't hold down a job because he's deemed a WH&S risk. This is for the 65 MILLION people worldwide living with this condition today. 

A diagnosis of epilepsy is life-changing and can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life. It affects their independence, social and employment opportunities and relationships, not to mention the anxiety and stress over living with the constant threat of a life-threatening seizure. Epilepsy doesn’t discriminate – it can happen to you or me, or someone in our family, regardless of age or background. Sadly, a huge number of the approximately 250,000 Australians with epilepsy are children, teenagers and young adults.

As the oldest and largest provider of quality services, Epilepsy Action Australia is there to care, support and provide hope to those diagnosed with the condition, as well as their families and friends. But we can’t continue to do this without your help. We rely heavily on the generous support of the public to fund not only our services but research into better ways to treat the condition and manage seizures.

Donations made through this platform are secure and will be remitted directly through to Epilepsy Action Australia.

Thanks so much for your support!

Love always,

Grace xx