22-y-o graduates UWI despite mountainous challenges with epilepsy

HER JOURNEY to university started not only during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also shortly after receiving a diagnosis of epilepsy.

Growing up in the Kingston community of Seaview Gardens and coming from a low-income family, 22-year-old Omelia Harrison had just one goal in life, to make her mother proud.

In an interview with The Gleaner Harrison, who will be graduating from The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, with second-class honours tomorrow, stated that despite living in a community which was infamously known for occasional flare-ups of violence, and was overrun with teenage pregnancy, she found positives that helped to keep her grounded and motivated to achieve academic success.

“I knew that I didn’t want to be like the young girls in my area, not saying that every one of them are the same, but I knew that I ... wanted to become better and my mother always tell me that, ‘Omeila, I don’t want you to be like me ... ensure that you get what I didn’t get’,” she said, adding that her mother was without qualifications and had not graduated from primary and junior high school.

Leading up to university, Harrison’s greatest difficulty was that of her parents’ inability to sometimes provide for her and her younger sister who is currently in grade 10.

A past student of the Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha), Harrison said that there were times when her family of four had to share $500 among themselves and that she was given $30 from it to attend school.

She continued that the numerous applications sent in by her mother to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s PATH programme were unsuccessful.

With the help of a guidance counsellor, Harrison said that she was able to use the $30 to pay for a PATH lunch ticket.

When she enrolled at UWI, Harrison, who majored in management studies and minored in tourism management, began to feel uneasy and had initially hidden her symptoms from her family because she did not want to add to her parent’s financial burdens.

Four seizures a day

It was not until the pandemic, which forced the activation of confinement measures, that her symptoms were noticed by her family as they became progressively worse, and she would experience at least four epilectic seizures a day while having to balance online classes.

After conducting a computed tomography (CT) scan and electroencephalogram (EEG) examination, it was confirmed and Harrison sought financial assistance from her family to help with the expenses. But they did not believe that she was telling the truth because she was not born with epilepsy, she explained.

“They thought that it was something that we made up so that we could get some quick cash, even though I have had episodes around other family members before,” she continued.

But thanks to her church family and a few other family members who offered assistance, she was able to afford the necessary tests.

November is celebrated as epilepsy awareness month. Epilepsy is a neurological condition that causes an individual to experience repeated seizures owing to a temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain. Epilepsy, also known as a seizure disorder, can cause various symptoms whereas some individuals may lose awareness while others don’t.

In other instances, an individual may stare with a blank expression for a few seconds during a seizure and there are others who will experience convulsions, repeated twitching of the arms or legs.

School became increasingly difficult as Harrison tried to ensure that her condition did not dictate the course of her life. But to effectively engage in classes and contribute to group assignments was stressful, she said.

She detailed one instance where a group member refused to add her name to the final submission of an assignment, because she had missed a few group meetings and that despite explaining her condition to the group, they did not believe her.

Similarly, she said, there were some lecturers who thought that she was making up a sob story and that she was not epileptic.

Harrison said that individuals would often remark that she appeared to be healthy due to her outward appearance and that she was lying.

“It just showed me how inconsiderate some people can be when it comes to these things ... I was so upset and confused, it was like I was speaking to a wall,” she said, adding that her medical report that would help to offer proof of her condition took two years to obtain due to the pandemic’s impact on the health sector.

Returning to face-to-face classes, Harrison feared being isolated due to her condition.

Unfortunately, during her first day on campus, she suffered a seizure.

“I was ashamed, I wanted to cry, and I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t have any help from someone I knew. It was a lot,” she said, adding that she would often hide herself from the world around her.

Her fears were heightened after news broke that final-year UWI student, Kareem Medley, was found dead in his dorm room on campus and was reported to have a history of seizures.

“To think that one of my fellow schoolmates died due to the same illness as mine was scary and frightening. Epilepsy is unpredictable, so I was constantly wondering would I be next?” she explained.

Hospitalised close to exams

In her final year, Harrison was hospitalised for three days, two weeks before examinations commenced.

This was her first time being hospitalised as she had experienced 15 seizures in a day.

With an already weakened body, and a determined spirit, she sat her final examinations.

“There were many times I wanted to give up and just throw in the towel, but then I remember my mother and my sister, and I know that they are depending on me,” she said.

The Bible scripture, Luke 1:37, which reads, ‘for with God nothing shall be impossible’, was used to keep her motivated, she said.

While she is pleased that she has overcome her challenges and have obtained a degree, Harrison remains uncertain about what her future holds, especially after going to five interviews and being turned down.

She stated that during all the interviews, the question of whether she had any medical conditions would come up and that after disclosing being epileptic, there was noticeable change in interviewers’ acceptance of her joining their workforce.

She said that she remains hopeful that she will one day get a job opportunity.

“I just want us to be happy,” she said of her family of whom she intends to assist once she can find stable income.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com

See related story on Page A6