Kiri’s Story

Twenty six year old Kiri’s family first noticed there was a problem when she was three years old. Her language development was slow and she was referred to a speech and language therapist.  Two years later, Kiri started to pause momentarily during mealtimes and her arms jerked outwards. That was the start of her epilepsy.

Kiri’s epileptic seizures swiftly worsened to include violent head, neck and arm movements. Her jerks threw her backwards - often with no warning, injuring the back of her head and escalated to the point where she experienced them 30-40 times a day. Later, she also developed startle epilepsy – any sudden noise could cause her to drop to the ground, her knees buckling and the impact causing facial injuries. At this point, no medication seemed effective enough to stop or reduce the frequency of her seizures. Her birth had been normal and no particular cause for her conditions could be identified.

Kiri was 22 when she arrived at the Meath with a full face helmet – her defence against the unpredictability of her epilepsy. She moved into Jeffrey Court, a bright airy unit, where she made friends and settled into Meath life. But initially, Kiri suffered severe distress at the thoughtless reactions of other people to her helmet when she went outside and would often have to return early in tears. Working closely with her family, Meath staff have implemented more practical solutions to dealing with her seizures. Today, she is helmet-free and enjoys her life outside the Meath with staff always on hand to support her if a seizure strikes. Her epilepsy is better controlled - she now has significantly fewer seizures than when she was a child.