Heather Overton

Year diagnosed: 1985
Type of epilepsy: Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
Lives for: Helping others

Once a month, Heather Overton looks forward to immersing herself in the detail of epilepsy because it means she'll be up to date on the latest treatments and medications. "There is that old saying, "knowledge is power," and I firmly believe that the more you know, the less you are afraid," explains Overton. And the place she turns to for empowerment is the epilepsy support group she and her mother founded two years ago - the only one in her home state of Nebraska.

Although Overton was diagnosed with epilepsy at 18 months, she had never met another person with epilepsy until she walked into the first meeting of the support group. "So many people are afraid they'll be discriminated against if they talk about their disease, and until we can break that stigma, people with epilepsy will keep hiding," says Overton, a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. "At the first meeting of our group, everyone said, 'I thought there was no one else like me.'"

The support group, now with 30 members, also helped Overton's mother, Mary, escape the isolation she had long felt. "My parents never let me see that they were frustrated or angry with my epilepsy, but I learned recently that my mother would cry at night when nothing was stopping my seizures, and she and my father had no one to talk to about what they were going through," says Overton.

Now, Overton and her mother are working to support even more Nebraskans with epilepsy. They're leading a group that hopes to raise $100,000 to establish the epilepsy foundation of Nebraska, which will provide legal assistance, help in finding jobs and housing, scholarships, physician referrals and epilepsy awareness training for teachers and health professionals. Currently, people with epilepsy in Nebraska can tap resources offered by an Illinois epilepsy foundation, but many activities and services are simply too far away, says Overton. "It will be great to have these services right here at home."

Also on Overton's agenda is raising public awareness about epilepsy, so whenever she participates in an epilepsy-related event, she contacts the media and gives interviews. "I want to show others that epilepsy is not a roadblock to achieving the goals you set for yourself," Overton says. That’s certainly her approach, and she is gratified to know her example is inspiring others. Recently, her epileptologist told her about a young patient who, after she has a seizure, turns to Overton's taped television interviews for encouragement, and proclaims, "I want to be like Heather."

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