A MOTHER with epilepsy who was left housebound while pregnant is reaching out to others in her shoes.

Faye Waddams, aged 31, of Hanson Drive, Loughton, was diagnosed with the disease aged seven but it was under control until she fell pregnant in October 2014.

After two years of being seizure free, she began experiencing a number of terrifying and dangerous attacks.

When she was five months pregnant and fell down some stairs at a train station, she was forced to give up her job as a communications officer for the Metropolitan Police.

She said: “It was horrendous. I was pretty much housebound because I was nervous I would have another seizure.

"I was rushed to the hospital after one of my seizure's because they thought I had broke my neck, it was a very low point for me.

“Being diagnosed with epilepsy at age 7 was tough, I couldn't do a lot of things that other kids could do, lots of credit to my parents because they allowed me to do everything I wanted to do within reason.”

She was incredibly relieved when she successfully delivered her son Noah, now aged 2, considering everything that had happened during her pregnancy.

When she first had Noah she had to be careful with how she handled him.

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She said: "Having epilepsy and being a mother does come with its difficulties, I had to avoid high surfaces and used to have to sit on the floor when changing and playing with him."

After realising there was no support for mothers with epilepsy, she decided to take matters into her own hands by starting a blog – Epilepsy, Pregnancy, Motherhood & Me.

It has been live for two years and has been viewed over 1000,000 times.

She added: “I was shocked by the response I received from the blog. I had to set up a support group to go with it.

“It just goes to show how many people are out there who are going through the same experiences as I was when I was pregnant.”

She has been nominated for the Positive Role Model – Disability category at The National Diversity Awards 2017, taking place on the 8th September.

Since starting her blog Faye has ran three London Marathons and this year, she raised £1,400 for Young Epilepsy.

She has also done work with Epilepsy Action, Epilepsy Research and has been contacted by midwives to assist in training when delivering babies for mothers with epilepsy.

Meanwhile, she is determined to quash the misconceptions about epilepsy – that you can live a normal life and that there is a lot more to epilepsy than seizures.

Faye is currently working at the Marathon Store and lives at home with her 2 year old son Noah and her husband Chris.

She said: “I plan to keep blogging and keep fundraising.

“As long as there are people out there who need support I will carry on providing it.”

Faye’s blog can be viewed at fairyfaye1986.weebly.c