Introduction

Hi there, my name is Renée Williams.

Thank you for clicking on whichever link has brought you to my little purple page of purple thoughts.

I’m 19, I live in rural Queensland Australia, I had my first seizure in 2009 and I was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2011.

I’ve struggled with my diagnosis due to the many common fears that people with epilepsy tend to have caused by the condition itself as well as the stigma, discrimination, ignorance and misconceptions that still surround the condition. I felt very alone and that I couldn’t talk to anybody about what I was going through. I’ve since learnt that I’m far from alone and, due to how common the condition is, I’ve probably met many people with epilepsy without even realising.

I don’t want others to feel so alone and scared and the only way to stop that is to break the cycle and bring epilepsy out of the shadows by speaking out and shining a light on epilepsy despite all the fears and negativity around it.

That’s what this page is for.

I’ll be writing about my experience with epilepsy, from day-to-day struggles to the really cool moments and everything in between, in hopes to show somebody with epilepsy they’re not alone and to show others the truth behind epilepsy.

There’s no order in what I share and when. Something may happen today that I want to share straight away but tomorrow I might share something that happened some time ago.

Since starting my purple adventure to break the cycle of fear and stigma that surrounds epilepsy I’ve been awarded the Role Model award by Epilepsy Queensland Inc. and I hope to continue being the best Role Model I can be for those living with epilepsy, their loved ones and those who just want to learn.

I hope you enjoy, learn, share and connect.

– Renée