By Jessica Micallef
Krystal Bourke has been seizure free for almost eight years, thanks to two brain surgeries done just one week apart.
The Kyneton resident was diagnosed with epilepsy when she was just two-years-old.
“My biological mother had overdosed me on heroin which caused the epilepsy,“ Ms Bourke said.
“Since I was two, I had many fits a day, up to eight fits a day. It didn’t help with my learning [and] I had anxiety and depression from it.
“What would happen before I had a fit is I would have a video clip play in my mind and then the next minute, I would be on the floor.
“I couldn’t make friends, I had to go to a special education school. I only learnt in the last eight years how to cook and look after myself because I couldn’t be around anything hot like water or a stove.”
The 28-year-old was put on medication it was the brain surgeries in July 2012 which finally helped her overcome epilepsy.
“I had brain surgery at 20-years-old,“ she said.
“The first surgery was the one where they put the electrodes in to find where the epilepsy was coming from.
“Then the second surgery was to remove the piece of the brain and the bone where the epilepsy was.“
A long recovery process followed the surgeries, but Ms Bourke said her life had changed “massively“ since her operations.
“I had to learn how to open my mouth and for the first couple of weeks all I could see was red and green,“ she said.
“I had memory loss, I had mental breakdowns.
“I can finally drive, I can work, I can look after myself and do things by myself.
“It’s a big difference. I can go to nightclubs and not have seizures.“
Ms Bourke hasn’t had a seizure since her surgery, but says she is still at “high risk“ of having one.
“I have what they call auras. It’s a sensation that you would have before the seizure,“ she said.
“I still have the sensation but it doesn’t go anywhere else. I have the assistance dog who warns me when I am going to have auras.“
The community is being encouraged to wear purple on Thursday, March 26, to mark Epilepsy Action Australia’s International Purple Day and help raise awareness of epilepsy.
“It’s [epilepsy] an invisible disability and people don’t understand how epilepsy affects you,“ Ms Bourke said.
“Epilepsy Action Australia have been the biggest help for me. They have helped me all the way through and still do.“
Details: epilepsy.org.au/fundraise/purple-day/
