People think I’m drunk due to epilepsy – and I blame childhood bullies

Permanent triple vision, slurred speech and problems walking straight. This is the reality faced by Emilyjane Vernu. And no, she’s not drunk.

The 27-year-old from Essex says people often assume she’s been drinking.

But sadly, she can’t do anything about these symptoms, which are caused by epilepsy and a rare type of seizure.

The Epilepsy Society confirms that stress can cause issues with the development of the brain in young children, and that there’s evidence of a link between stress and epilepsy in adults.

‘When my neurologist said the epilepsy was caused by the bullying, I collapsed to the floor,’ says Emilyjane.

‘There was so much anger and upset based on how much damage they have caused to me – there is no cure and nothing can be done about it.’

“I think about that every day, about what they have done to me, how they have taken my life away.”

Emilyjane now has to rely on her parents and partner – fellow 27-year-old Conor – for daily care.

She can no longer drive and has had to quit the training she’d started as a private first aid responder.

‘Everything was taken away from me when I was diagnosed,’ says Emilyjane. ‘My life just flipped.’

When Emilyjane was first diagnosed with epilepsy, she spent two years trialling seven drugs to try and control her seizures.

But while she some symptoms improved, she soon started suffering from unbearable focal seizures, which she says ‘destroyed’ her life.

‘The first time it happened and my vision went, I just burst into tears,’ she says.

‘It was so sudden and I could see four or five of everything – I thought I was going blind.’

These eyesight difficulties lasted 10 to 20 minutes a day at first, but slowly got worse until her triple (sometimes quadruple) vision was permanent.

In just a few short years, Emilyjane became practically housebound and is now unable to leave the house without supervision.

‘My mum has to do everything for me – she and my dad are basically my carers,’ she says.

‘I sometimes have to be carried upstairs by my partner. If I have a shaking seizure he catches me.’

Her condition has left her vulnerable outside the house, as she’s fallen into roads and has nearly been hit by cars.

Yet despite the mental toll of her diagnosis, she’s learning to live with it and is determined to spread a positive message, like others who’ve found happiness and purpose after diagnosis.

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

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