By Deron Hamel
Perseverance is a quality Emily Hoover both demonstrates and admires in others.
Diagnosed with epilepsy at 12, Emily says her condition has presented challenges, but she refuses to let those challenges control her life. At high school, Emily played rugby and curled. She has held down a job as a supervisor at Shoppers Drug Mart. She will also be attending college in September.
Emily says she draws inspiration from British Paralympic swimmer Maggie McEleny, who is affectionately known as “Mad Maggie” for her strong will and competitiveness. McEleny, who is paralyzed from the waist down, has won 15 medals at four Paralympic Games. Like Emily, McEleny was diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age.
Emily says her life has many parallels with the swimmer.
“For one, the diagnosis came at a similar time in life: she was 11, while I was 12. For another, both of us chose to persevere, to just keep going, even when others would not, often to the point of confounding and amazing our doctors,” Emily says.
Emily had her first seizure at school on April 19, 2010. Since then, she has gone through many tests and taken several medications to control her idiopathic epilepsy.
“However, like McEleny, I do not let my diagnosis stop me from living my life the way I want to,” Emily says.
In September, Emily will take on a new challenge. She is enrolled in the advanced biotechnology program at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ont. The program condenses three years of study into 2 ½ years.
“With the valuable knowledge I’ll gain through this program, I hope to start a lifelong career in scientific research,” Emily says. “The brain is an obvious choice (of study) of mine, and I would like to endeavour to lower the percentage (of people diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy). No one should have to go through what we have.”
Emily is one of the recipients of this year’s Osler Epilepsy Scholarship. The scholarship, formerly called the OBCL Epilepsy Scholarship, is being offered to four students this year. Aside from the name change, the scholarship committee also decided to up the award amount from $1,000 to $1,500.
Osler Epilepsy Scholarships are awarded each year to exceptional students who have confronted and overcome remarkable barriers in their academic and personal lives due to their epilepsy.
Applicants also submit a 600- to 900-word essay, about a famous person who has epilepsy and what that person’s life means to them.
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