Jane Turner’s story
2012 was my most successful season as an amateur golfer, but what many didn’t know at that time, was that my family and I had a terrifying experience on 20th July 2012. That evening, after a normal day at work, an evening gym session and then making my dinner… I had a tonic clonic seizure, though fortunately it happened in my own home with my family there. Apparently my dad was very quick, and caught me… unfortunately it was on my way back up from the tiled floor, so I must have hit my head pretty hard! But we had first responders and then paramedics to the house very quickly.
After getting MRI scans, it was confirmed that this seizure was due to a brain tumour called a DNET. Thankfully it is benign and not cancerous, but we were told that this tumour has been there since I was born! Usually people with this type of brain tumour get epilepsy as little children, so they have no idea why mine suddenly started at 22!
I was sat there receiving this information from my consultant, rather shocked, and without any idea of the seriously strong impact this would make on my life, and my career, as in 2012 I was still an amateur golfer and working as a graphic designer for a company in Edinburgh.
Epilepsy is not a very well know or understood condition, I had no real idea what it was and so became embarrassed and ashamed by my epilepsy. I think it was for this reason that the only people I told it were my family, my close friends and the people in my golf career that really HAD to know about it.
It is things people THINK they know about epilepsy, all of the old wives tales & myths, the fact that some people tell me I have a “disease” or the horrible time that some people, who I thought were my friends, just avoided me and didn’t want to talk about my epilepsy.
With the help of my neurology consultant, I had managed to get my epilepsy under control through medication very quickly. The only tonic clonic seizures I was having were if I had forgotten to take my tablets! Now there’s an alarm set, morning and evening, so that I don’t make that stupid mistake anymore.
By 2014 I was comfortable with my epilepsy, probably because I knew so much more about it and understood how my epilepsy works for me. So, when I was approached by the charities Epilepsy Scotland and Epilepsy Action because they wanted to publicise my epilepsy for Purple Day (the Epilepsy Awareness Day) I was more than happy to do this. It was in papers and on the radio that “Golfer brings epilepsy to the fore”, rather cheesy bu
I didn’t care because I just wanted to prove that it’s ok to have epilepsy. It doesn’t matter how many people judge you, they are the negative ones, therefore you cannot let them hold you back. You can still succeed.
I think everyone understands that you must have great determination to succeed in sport, even more so as a professional and then even more when you have a health condition like epilepsy.
I am unconditionally and forever grateful for the support and love of my family, and quite honestly, without it I would never have had the strength to turn professional in 2014.
There are difficulties for sure, like having to get the bus to golf or training, more limits when travelling… no more rental cars for Jane! Which makes travelling country to country for tournaments very difficult if I’m on my own.
Losing your driving license because of epilepsy, means you get a free “disabled” bus pass (although I only found this out in my 2nd year, so Lothian Buses definitely made profit from all of those trips!) and one of the most embarrassing moments on my bus travels, was when I stepped on the bus, golf clubs on my back, scanned my bus pass, then had the driver look me up and down and say “How did you get that?! You don’t look disabled!” But I bravely told him “that’s not of your business” & went to sit down.
Now I still have seizures, though if anything, it’s usually focal seizures or “absences”, where I blank out for anything between 5 and 30 seconds, or seizures that affect my speech. Both of these are due to where that little tumour is in my brain.
It wasn’t until 2017, in my 4th year playing on the LET Access Series, that I won my first trophy as a professional! The pride and joy was unreal, but there was definitely a little sense of relief too. Though by this time I already had my epilepsy, so the thought of having to stand up & make a speech… for something that never bothered me before, that now terrified me… maybe even more than holing the put to win the tournament!
It’s actually why I now take a caddy who knows me, and my epilepsy, to my events. My absences can usually be noticed by my caddy, if I haven’t felt it coming on myself, so they stop me & make me stay there until I have full awareness of what’s going on around me and 100% control of my body movement.
Otherwise, things can happen like… picking up my ball marker before I’ve even finished putting…
Picking up the ball, washing it and putting it back down… when it’s not actually a day of preferred lies!
Or even something as simple as, I can’t remember what the girl who’s card I’m marking has scored on that particular hole.
Evidently, I am now very open about my condition, I’m not ashamed and you can see that on my social media profiles & also on my website.
I’m proud to become a patron for The Voice For Epilepsy because they have the same ethos as myself, and we both want to raise the awareness of the condition within the community. I want those suffering from the condition that they should not be ashamed and believe in themselves.
