Life for Samantha Hetherington changed on Nov. 11, 2011, when the then-15-year-old woke up on the floor of the living room in her family’s house, surrounded by paramedics, then being lifted onto a stretcher and taken to hospital.

Hetherington had just experienced her first seizure. More seizures would follow, and she was put on medication which helped control her epilepsy, but the seizures continued.

Hetherington had seizures at school and she’d have to stay home the next few days to recover. This caused her to fall behind in her classes. Then there was the sting she felt from epilepsy’s social stigma which compounded the depression she was experiencing.

But through the hardships came increasing confidence and a strong determination to not let her condition dominate her life.

“Personally, I never really think of my epilepsy as an illness,” she says. “I tend to think of it as just a part of me….”

Deanna Tremblay, a teacher at All Saints Catholic High School in Kanata, has worked with Hetherington for two years. Tremblay characterizes Hetherington as a student “who has persevered through a number of personal challenges.”

“She works hard to accept the realities of being a teenager with epilepsy,” Tremblay says. “Many of Samantha’s setbacks have required her to adapt to new plans, some of which have taken her out of her area of comfort, however, she strives to make a difference and make things work.”

Now 18, Hetherington is preparing to enter a new stage in life. A recent graduate of All Saints Catholic High School, the Ottawa resident is preparing to begin studies in the child and youth worker program at Algonquin College in September, thanks in part to an OBCL Epilepsy Scholarship she was recently awarded.

Hetherington says her experience with epilepsy has increased her sense of empathy and has set her on a career path where she can help others.

“I believe that I’ve learned how to better help people ever since being diagnosed and living with epilepsy and that, perhaps, is something that might never have occurred had I not had this journey.”

The OBCL Epilepsy Scholarship Awards were presented June 13 to six students in the province this year.

OBCL has been supporting students with epilepsy through the scholarship awards since 2006. Every year, up to 10 Ontario students win a $1,000 scholarship for post-secondary education. As part of their application package, students must submit a personal essay under that year’s theme.

Writer: Deron Hamel

If you have feedback on this story, or have a story of your own that you would like to share, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca. You can also leave a comment below.