Lowestoft woman with epilepsy starts support group

Kerry Smith says she lost both her job and her social circle following her epilepsy diagnosis

A Suffolk woman has started her own epilepsy support group after struggling to find help locally.

Kerry Smith, 42, from Lowestoft, said her life changed in a second after she was diagnosed with the condition aged 28 years old.

After travelling out-of-county to meet others with epilepsy, Miss Smith started her own group in Lowestoft.

Miss Smith said: "It's important to help others with epilepsy, so that's why I did that."

She said there were "no signs" before she had her first seizure at 26-years-old. It was initially deemed a one-off incident by doctors.

Two years later, she began having two to three seizures each week before she was diagnosed with epilepsy.

"I have what they call chronic seizures," she said. "I drop to the ground and go into a tonic-clonic (a type of seizure), and it can take me a long time to come around."

Kerry Smith is hosting the Purple Ball at the Wherry Hotel, Oulton Broad, in March to raise money for the support group

Due to her uncontrolled seizures, Miss Smith lost her job and her social life suffered.

"[My friends] didn't understand the epilepsy or know what to do, so the social circle I was with at the time dwindled," she said.

After attending a support group in Norwich, which she had found through Epilepsy Action, Miss Smith started to rebuild her life.

"It was like a weight being lifted from your shoulders because you're meeting people for the first time who are like you, who understand what you're going through," she said.

"Meeting other people like me was just amazing and I've made some amazing friends by going to that group, and my parents are able to talk to other parents and that helped them."

As well as starting a support group in her home town, Miss Smith started working as a befriender with Epilepsy Action, providing regular phone support to those effected by the condition.

On 30 March, Miss Smith will host a ball in aid of Epilepsy Awareness Day to raise money for the group.