Stories behind Milo&Me: Jayln

Hi there, my name is Jalyn, thanks to Sophia and the Milo&Me epilepsy group chat, I have the honor to share my story for the first time.

My story starts at age 4, when I started having seizures. Doctors initially thought I had a brain tumor, but later we got the diagnosis of epilepsy. They medicated me until I was ten years old, then I was taken off my medication; I “looked and seemed fine,” but I was silently battling seizures, and I did not know what was happening. In January 2021, I had my first tonic-clonic ever that lasted 5 minutes. This was my first ambulance ride. The doctors ran lots of tests, and everything came back normal. But when we spoke to my doctor, she told us I may have not grown out of my epilepsy. This shocked me, but it also gave me answers to the weird stuff that had been happening to me for nearly four years. It was seizures.

I started finding epilepsy pages. After an epilepsy account that I followed was going inactive, I found Milo&Me and joined the group chat. I had no idea that this would make me a happier person and so much less alone that all the girls would support me, be inspired, give advice when needed, and celebrate my milestones, no matter how big or small. I love to advocate, educate and talk about epilepsy. I’m passionate about spreading awareness about this condition. Aside from my epilepsy, I love music, family, friends, and climbing.

I love to climb even though my seizures aren’t controlled like when I was little. Because my seizures have changed organically, this doesn’t stop me from being myself and certainly doesn’t stop me from climbing. Like my favorite song by Delta Goodrem, “Keep Climbing", “I still keep climbing.”

Talk to you all soon

– Jalyn