By Deron Hamel
“Don’t let your epilepsy control you; it’s just one part of your life.”
Taylor Kepka says if she could write a letter to her younger self, this would be the opening sentence.
Looking back, Taylor, now a university student, says when she experienced her first seizures she didn’t know what was happening, and it was scary.
“It was frustrating and confusing, and not having any answers made it even harder,” she says. “Once I got diagnosed with epilepsy, things made a little more sense. At least I knew what I was dealing with.”
The Oakville resident says it took time to get a diagnosis, and that made matters more difficult.
But she says she wants her younger self to know that the diagnosis will be a big hurdle she will successfully climb and that even though there will still be challenges, having epilepsy will not define who she is.
“It’s not always easy, and I still get a bit anxious and fearful about it, but I’ve learned how to manage it,” Taylor says of living with epilepsy. “I’ve figured out what helps my health and what doesn’t, and I’ve built a routine that works for me. It’s something I live with, but it doesn’t control my life as much now.”
Taylor says school became a significant challenge for her, primarily due to the frequent seizures she experiences. She says the episodes can take a toll, leaving a noticeable impact on her memory and her ability to retain new information.
Despite these challenges, Taylor says she is hopeful and that with the right support system and the academic resources available to her, she can – and will – continue pushing forward.
“Having epilepsy has made me more understanding, and it’s taught me that I can handle things even when they’re unpredictable,” Taylor says. “It’s shaped how I approach life and my goals. I know what I want, and I’ll work as hard as I can to get there.”
As a final note to her younger self, Taylor says she would send a reminder to never let epilepsy control her life.
“It’s just one part of your life,” she says. “You’ll figure it out, and you’ll get stronger from it, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”
Taylor is one of four recipients of Epilepsy Ontario’s 2025 scholarship. For more than 15 years, the organization has provided scholarships to exceptional students who have confronted and overcome significant barriers in their academic and personal lives due to epilepsy.
