Hi! I’m Pippa, two years ago I suffered a seizure in school, just out of the blue, I hadn’t been unwell that day and it was a shock to me, my family and my peers. School got me the help I needed and I was taken to hospital where I got professional help, but a year ago I was officially diagnosed with Epilepsy, since that day I've had other seizures, time off school and medication increases.

School have done their best to support me but I feel that they don't fully understand Epilepsy and the side effects of taking Anti-Epileptic medication brings, like needing time off school and a teacher even accused me of faking my seizures in order to get time off school.

I have actually been accused of faking seizures in order to have time off school...This is unacceptable and needs to change.

Schools also need educating, not just it's pupils and teachers need to take more action.

Please sign this petition so that schools can be more understanding of Epilepsy and those who suffer from the condition.

I’m also a Young Supporter for Young Epilepsy and currently organising a fundraiser for next month, and I couldn’t have done this petition without the help from my friend Olivia who also suffers from Epilepsy and has been treated the same way as me!

I have been involved in many newspaper articles and radio shows and more recently in a TV project for Sky Kids, Sky News, FYI Sky Kids and BBC

Thanks for reading,

Pippa.

-UPDATE-

Young Epilepsy have made a huge difference by making a podcast called Understand my Epilepsy where young people can talk about their experiences with Epilepsy in schools!

I am so excited for this project to go ahead!

-information for everyone-

hi
i’m pippa and i’m 16 years old and this is my story
I love doing modelling and acting, I model for Cotton candy wear and I act at Bacup royal court theatre every Wednesday and at PQA Bury every Saturday and I also love to sing and dance!!!
i was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 14 after suffering a seizure in school age 12
it was just a regular day in school with my friends and teachers, i was in the middle of maths class and the paper went blurry, i had an eye test booked because that had been happening for the past week, i asked the boy next to me to read it and i’m not sure if he was trying to be a comedian but he started to read it out loud so i asked him if he could physically read the sheet and he said he could
i wrote down the first question and then went to write the second and i remember bumping my head on the table and then everything just went blank and then i woke up in the medical room with lots of teachers around me
they told me that my mum was coming to pick me up and because my school barely sends anyone home that’s when i started to get a bit suspicious 
my mum and granddad turned up and then mum told me that i’d had a seizure
later on my best friend enolagh told me everything that had happened, apparently i’d landed on the shoulders of the boy who read the sheet out before and another girl got the teacher’s attention whilst the medical staff sorted me out and my best friend was just in the corner crying bless her
Since having Epilepsy I haven’t been as bubbly or as confident as I was before I had Epilepsy, usually i’d be crazy around the house but now i’m tired all the time and I have headaches mostly and more recently hair loss 

my worst seizure was probably the next year after that when i had coronavirus, i was cuddled up with my mum on the couch under a blanket watching tv, we both had coronavirus so we were both off work and school to rest, suddenly i started to not breathe all of a sudden and then passed out, i don’t remember much but then later on in the evening we were still cuddled up watching tv and having our tea and then suddenly i couldn’t breathe again and just launched my plate into my mums arms because that time i knew that i was going to pass out again!

i don’t want anyone to go through what i’ve had to go through 

i want to make schools especially and the general public aware of epilepsy because it’s not very well educated about, during all of my time in school and i’m in year 11 now, i’ve never had a single lesson about epilepsy ever, only in my duke of edinburgh lessons because i was taking part and it was to show people what to do if i was to go into a seizure, luckily we didn’t need to do any of that and it was a very good but tiring trip!
my friends and family are aware of what to do but my boyfriend jake is very supportive of me and we love each other very much, he is the one that makes me confident and helps me to know that i’m not alone, he guides me through my life with epilepsy 

i made a petition on change.org and it nearly has 700 signatures https://chng.it/YW8MKkPYk8 and to some people that may seem like a small number but to me that’s mind blowing, i made a blog on social media and it shows the daily life of a teenager like me with epilepsy and how my lifestyle is like every day, it’s not all fun and games, i wake up tired most days and drowsy due to my medication and my walking is sometimes affected too, i limp around a lot, i have to have insteps in my shoes, i might have autism and this has all stemmed from just one seizure!
I have a blog on Instagram which has over 2,000 followers and I post about my daily life as a teen with Epilepsy, everything good and bad

i was nominated for a National Diversity Award too, my next goal is when i leave school next year, i’m going to start this after christmas, i’m going to save up to buy lots of epilepsy packs and donate them to schools all across england, i want to do assemblies also since children and young people and schools need educating, teachers need educating too, not just the students, my school gives me all the support i need but not all schools are like that, I’m obsessed with online shopping and especially on Vinted, I discovered someone who sold Epilepsy packs and now whenever I get pocket money I buy an Epilepsy pack and when I leave school i’m planning on doing assemblies in schools all across the UK!!!

i’ve also written to my local MP to try to get Epilepsy on the major conditions strategy and even appeared on the front page of my local newspaper and most recently appeared on the Lancashire Telegraph, i’m currently in another project with FYI sky kids and BBC, my plea to everyone is to just make more awareness about epilepsy, i’ve also started a fundraiser for Young Epilepsy and recently hit my target of £100 and i’m a young supporter and part of the youth voice network to support people with epilepsy and that’s all i ask for!

thank you