Stories behind Milo&Me: Briana

Hi everyone! My name is Briana, and I am one of the many people who benefit from the funds collected for Milo and Me, the group chat, and the care packages. I worked with Sophia on deciding that keeping the blog fresh and updated might be good to spread epilepsy awareness further. So, various perspectives and concepts are headed to this web page soon! But first, we'll introduce ourselves.

Over the past several months, I have had the absolute privilege to meet both Sophia and Milo and had the opportunity to see all the ins and outs of Milo & Me. I don't remember how I found the account, but I think I was in a desperate search for a support group where I could talk with people who understood what my life was like to live. As someone who has the drive to become involved with the epilepsy community, I want to be able to provide both support and awareness. So, as someone who hopes to keep the blog updated for the next little bit, I figured I should introduce myself.

So obviously, my name is Briana, but usually, people call me Bri, so you can too!

In 2011, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. I originally had complex partial seizures, but somewhere along the lines, they became focal onset. I have had an excellent medical team along the way, which I am grateful for, but as life works, I am currently on month 4 of my 6-month ban from driving.

Along with epilepsy, I have personal experience with mental health issues and other chronic conditions. But for me, epilepsy has always been the focus of my interest. Especially with an uptake in seizures over the past several years, I became interested in finding ways to get involved with other epileptics and charities that raise money or support for epileptics. I feel there is a lack of understanding surrounding us and the effect epilepsy has on our daily lives as epileptics.

At the time of writing, I am a first-semester college student studying neuroscience as pre-med. I may go into more detail with this later, but I want to preface that I love the brain. My epilepsy is not the only reason I became interested in this career path, but it has equipped me with more sympathy and understanding than one might get from a textbook.

Some of my interests are; writing, music, playing the flute, baking, and of course, finding ways to advocate for epilepsy awareness. I hope this blog will become a way for people to discover our day-to-day lives and better understand what epilepsy is outside the base-level definition and symptoms.

Bye for now!