April 26, 2013 — Lia Turner has a message for others living with epilepsy: never let your seizure disorder dominate your life or keep you from pursuing your passions.
It’s a mantra that 16-year-old Turner lives by. Her passion is equestrianism, and she has never allowed epilepsy to prevent her from riding her horse, Echo.
“If you truly have a passion for horse-riding or skiing or whatever, keep that alive, because that’s what really helps me keep going when things are tough,” says Turner, who rides competitively.
“I can say that even though I have epilepsy, I am so passionate about horse-riding that it’s something that I just have to keep doing and not be too worried about.”
Turner, who began riding horses at age four, has never let her passion wane. It’s not that having epilepsy hasn’t affected her as a horseback rider — she’s had seizures while riding — it’s that she refuses to let her seizure disorder deter her.
And why should she? After all, she has the benefit of a riding partner who seemingly understands her condition and, without any kind of training, knows how to react when Turner has a seizure.
Her partner, of course, is Echo.
Last year Turner had a tonic-clonic seizure while riding. When Turner came out of the seizure, she was on the ground. Echo, it turns out, had stopped trotting as soon as the seizure began. The horse stood still until the episode was over and someone could safely move Turner to the ground.
“Every time after that she has been so good at standing and waiting for somebody else to come and help me and she doesn’t move until I am safe — and I never trained her to do that, it just worked out that way,” Turner says.
“It’s a big part of our bond as a team and how we compete — that bond is what really helps me in the time that I would have a seizure on her back and she needs to stand there.”
Not only does Turner refuse to let epilepsy interfere with her passion for equestrianism, she says her love of her horse and the sport gives her comfort over having a seizure disorder.
“Since I’ve had Echo, I’ve always considered riding her as my safe place to go,” she says.
Keep reading Voices of Epilepsy for related stories. An upcoming story will feature an interview with Susy Niles of Iron Horse Equestrian Centre in Burlington where Turner trains.
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Writer: Deron Hamel
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