Suzanne McGuire’s life changed on Oct. 26, 2009.

That afternoon, the St. Catharines native was writing her fourth-year biomechanics midterm exam at Brock University when she suddenly woke up on the floor, surrounded by her classmates and a paramedic, who explained she had a seizure.

After officially being diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2010, McGuire was presented with many challenges to complete her undergraduate degree in kinesiology. But she never gave up. In fact, she was encouraged by one of her professors, Dr. Jarold Cosby, to write an undergraduate thesis reflective of her personal experience with epilepsy.

Initially, McGuire planned to become a physiotherapist. But since her diagnosis, McGuire’s interest in epilepsy and helping others who have seizure disorders has mushroomed. Writing her undergraduate thesis on her experience inspired her to take things a step further and pursue a master’s degree.

“Through that experience, I decided I wanted to get the patients’ side out more to truly show academics and medical professionals what it really is like for patients,” says McGuire, who also serves on the board of directors for Epilepsy Niagara.

McGuire’s master’s thesis focuses on young women between 20 and 35 who have been living with epilepsy for at least one year. She’s in the process of interviewing women face to face to discuss their experiences of living with a seizure disorder.

Young women have a unique perspective on living with a seizure disorder, and McGuire wants to share their experiences through her thesis.

“There really isn’t a lot of connection for young women living with epilepsy, and (when women are young) there’s a lot of things changing in their lives,” she says.

“(Young women are) trying to become independent people, trying to start a career, marriage, children, all kinds of things, and through that I want them to express how they truly feel about living with epilepsy and how their experiences ultimately relate to whether or not or how they disclose their condition.”

Ultimately, McGuire says she wants to have her thesis published to provide the academic and medical communities with “a true patients’ experience” of what it’s like to live with a seizure disorder.

With more information available on the challenges young women face when living with epilepsy, more supportive resources may eventually become available, she says.

McGuire is actively seeking participants to interview for her thesis. If you are a woman, aged 20 to 35 who has had epilepsy for at least one year, please contact suzanne_mcguire(at)hotmail.com.

Writer: Deron Hamel

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