A MAN from Sticklepath is helping to spearhead a campaign raising awareness and understanding of epilepsy.

Dave Goodwin, 38, has had epilepsy since 1994, though he was not diagnosed until 2002.

Eighteen years ago he thought he was having a funny turn — unaware he was having a partial seizure. The episodes kept recurring.

In 2002, he was rushed to hospital after his colleagues witness him having a seizure. He was diagnosed within two days and given medication.

He is helping to spearhead a new campaign by the Epilepsy Society, being launched to tear down myths and misconceptions about the condition.

New research by the organisation published last week reveals that in some areas, public understanding of the condition has gone backwards in the last ten years.

Dave is one of five sufferers of epilepsy sharing their story and experiences to try and improve the common perception of the condition.

Working as a community development worker for an arts development charity at the time of his diagnosis, Dave went part-time and became office-based, as he could not drive.

By July 2003, his drugs were having such an effect that he had to leave his job.

He said: 'I was incapable of working because of the side effects of the medication and I was still having clusters of seizures, the drugs never really had an impact.

'Year after year I was having more seizures and 12 months before I had surgery in 2009, I had 1,000, from partial to full on 'tonic-clonic' seizures.'

After the operation it took Dave a long time to recover, but since then he hasn't had a single seizure.

He is now looking for work, but with a ten year gap on his CV, he has found it difficult. He is currently volunteering while looking for work.

Dave says he has been lucky with the support he has received from friends, family and colleagues as he knows it is not always the case for fellow sufferers.

'There is a lot of misunderstanding about the condition,' said Dave.

'So often people assume you are drunk when you are having a seizure.

'I know of one lady who had a partial seizure at the school gates waiting for her children. The next thing social services were onto her as she was reported as being drunk.

'The public shouldn't jump to conclusions and make assumptions.  They should talk to the person and try to understand what is going on. I believe it would be beneficial to have a public awareness raising campaign about the condition.'

He added that a first aid course in schools and the workplace would be a good start.

'People assume that you put a spoon in the mouth of someone having a seizure but that is wrong as it is impossible to swallow your tongue during a seizure.

'If everyone was properly imformed it would make life a lot easier for epilepsy sufferers.'

To find out more about the campaign and epilepsy, visit http://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk">www.epilepsysociety.org.uk or call the Epilepsy Society helpline on 01494 601400.