Epilepsy affects approximately 1% of the Canadian population. This disorder, characterized by changes in brain activity known as seizures, is often debilitating due to the severity of its symptoms.
When a seizure occurs, the brain is, in a sense, short-circuited, causing an uncontrollable burst of electrical activity that causes changes in consciousness, movement, behavior, or emotions. There are many different types of seizures, and each has its own unique signs, symptoms, and potentially life-threatening effects.
Current treatments focus on drugs, surgery, medical devices, and special diets. For many people with this disorder, one or a combination of available treatments is sufficient to control seizures. Still, for Linda McClure and many other people, there is no treatment that can stop seizures from occurring.
“I’ve had three temporal lobectomies, where a large portion of my right temporal lobe had to be removed,” she said. She “underwent further in-depth investigations and intracranial monitoring. “I’ve done that twice.” She continues: “At one point I was taking four different medications, and you can imagine the side effects of those medications. “I mean, I was drugged.”
McClure is not alone. According to UCB Canada, 30% of Canadians currently suffer from uncontrollable seizures.