Kirkby mum speaks about having epileptic seizure behind the wheel of a car

A Kirkby mum who suffers with epilepsy has spoken of the day she nearly died after having a seizure behind the wheel of her car.
Becky and her son.Becky and her son.
Becky and her son.

Speaking ahead of national epilepsy week from today (May 20), Becky Boulton, 43, is speaking out in the hope of raising public awareness about the condition.

Becky, who had her first seizure in February 2018, was found by her teenage son on the bedroom floor - and was told by doctors that it was a "one-off".

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However six months later she was driving home from work to her Kirkby home when she had a seizure behind the wheel.

Becky and her son.Becky and her son.
Becky and her son.

A man in a white van saw what was happening and swerved in front of her to stop her going into oncoming traffic. Luckily a nurse was also in the car behind her and stopped to help.

Thankfully she was fine and after extensive medical tests, she was diagnosed with epilepsy and began taking epilepsy medication.

Now she is speaking out ahead of Epilepsy Action's national epilepsy week from May 20 and following a study by the University of Bangor into the condition.

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The study revealed that 36 per cent of the British public said they would be "unsure or unwilling" to help someone having an epileptic seizure, and Becky wants to change this.

She said: “I have had to give up my driving licence – life-changing in itself as I had been driving longer than I hadn’t.

"I have also had to massively cut down on alcohol as it can interfere with my medication, so I can quite often feel like a party pooper when I go out.

"But these are small prices to pay to remain seizure-free. I recently did a sponsored boxercise event where I took over the class for an evening – doing boxercise has been my escape since being diagnosed.

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"I have never been able to contact the man or the nurse to thank them for saving me, despite trying numerous times.

"I owe my life to them – as well as my 15-year-old son who found and helped me the first time I had a seizure.

"If you see someone having a seizure, the best advice I can give is don’t be scared because I can guarantee the person having the seizure will be much more scared when they come round.

"I know from my own experience how important it is to see a friendly, reassuring face.”

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Philip Lee, Epilepsy Action chief executive, said: “Witnessing a seizure can be frightening and people might worry about making the situation worse.

"But simple things, such as staying with the person until they come round and calling for help where necessary, can make a massive difference.

"From the countless stories we hear, when people step up to support someone having a seizure, it can make a disorientating, sometimes life-threatening, experience much less scary for everyone."